The Roots of the Tree support the Branch
by antheunis011
Summary: Starts after the Battle of the Leaf, 6 paths of Pein. For the love of Kami, review. Undecided pairings. Possibilites: Narutox Kurotsuchi Or Shizuka Or Samui
1. The Battle's end

**I don't own Naruto, but i do own some of the jutsu in this fic.**

* * *

Rain was falling over the wreckage that was now the gloomy village of Konohagakure no Sato. A giant, multi-layered hole was inside the center of the village, streching outwards, the buildings thrown all over the place, wreckage strewn about.

It was a sad day, most of the population has been killed by Deva path's **_Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God_**, **Shinra Tensei**, a jutsu whose ability is to manipulate _repulsive force_ , _sekiryoku_ at the user's will to push matter and chakra constructs, jutsu away. Depending on the amount of force the user puts in this technique, it can easily shatter wood, bones, metal, or stone walls, leaving only destruction and death in its wake.

Shinobi and civilian alike cried over the mangled bodies of their loved ones, gone from this world when suddenly the King of Hell, a Rinnegan contruct appeared in the middle of the crater. The few people who were left tensed as it opened its mouth, visible to all, when suddenly a green light shone in them and a bunch of green lights suddenly shot out into the bodies of the dead.

* * *

Naruto, clad in his orange clothes, brushed a hand through his mop of sun-kissed spiky blonde hair, before lowering his gaze. The ninja looked at the dead bodies of Konan and Nagato Uzumaki. The Battle for the Hidden Leaf village against the _6 Paths of pain_ has just been completed.

For the last hour, Naruto was forced to listen to a mop story of Nagato, Konan and Yahiko from childhood. Nagato spoke about how his life was fucked, how he had no food, how they barely survived, how their country was ransacked and obliterated by war. It was worse from that time he was 'playing' at the chunin exams and the Hyuuga, Neji ranted about fate and destiny and whatnot.

The fuck. Seriously did everyone take him for a shrink. He was not a psychiatrist dammit. But no, he has to listen to these people rant on and on. And then he had to say something about following that idealistic pervert's dream of true peace and end of the cycle of hatred in this war-torn world.

Right after Nagato utilised his jutsu to bring back everyone, Naruto dispelled the mini-Katsuju-clone, the little slug not needed as it was the Godaime's summon and loyal to her. Before Konan could react, grief-stricken over Nagato's death, Naruto appeared before her using a simple shunshin, and slit her throat with a kunai.

A clean and quick death, no unnecessary destruction. Ninja's were supposed to fight from the shadows, not walk around like alight-Christmas trees. Hmm... what was Christmas anyway... bah, Naruto rubbed his temple, already feeling a migraine coming up.

Kneeling down beside the corpse of the supposedly S-rank woman, who's only tricks apparently were creating steel-paper shuriken and spam of explosive tags. Oh yippe. At least she could fly and had chakra to boot.

Reaching a hand behind, it slid into the pouch from where he pulled out a sealing scroll he always carried around, used for anything of importance. It was created by his first Sensei, and took months of grizzling sealing work to create.

It was keyed into a special release seal, could hold, theoretically an infinite amount of items and was nearly indestructible. Nearly, as a total destruction jutsu like the Biju's Bijudama or the Sandaime Tsuchikage's **_Dust release: Detachment of the primitive world,_**** Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu** could destroy it easily, the Bijudama vaporizing it and the Jinton crushing it into tiny particles, to be left to the winds.

Rolling it out, Naruto placed the two bodies of the Ame ninja on top of the seal matrix. The Rinnegan, The Eyes of The Rikkudo Sennin himself were a powerful weapon than couldn't be left to be taken by anyone else, in case they implanted them into themselves.

Kakashi became one of the most feared shinobi in the world because of his transplanted Sharingan, and Konan's special Ninjutsu could prove invaluable for transporting, relaying messages or plain survival out in the field. It could construct houses, as the tree they were in was increadibly sturdy. Naruto looked at the paper built tree, still standing tall and strong even after the caster's death. From what he has seen, the village will need a lot of new buildings soon.

Placing the scroll back into his equipment pouch, he sighed, letting his emotion slip a little as he grunted to stand up, utterly exhausted and almost chakra less, a feet he reached only several times in his life. The Shiki Fuin converting the Kyuubi's chakra, along with the special Uzumaki Chakra equaled massive chakra reserves. Naruto was only 16 and already had more chakra than most jonin, near Kage level.

_(Okay, Naruto will have a lot of chakra, but most people think he can't waste it. He isn't an endless well. Times when he was chakra drained in my memory: clone battle royale during Kuchiyose training, Kuchiyose, Naruto VS Garra...hmm this is all i remember from part one. During his wind training he had constant access to sakura's 'chakra pills'. 2 Rasenshuriken's during Kakuzu's fight and he was exhausted, the Lost tower- against the Super puppet... need i go on.)_

As soon as he moved forward, he nearly collapsed, falling to one knee, he sighed. Reaching for his backpouch, he pulled out a Chakra pill and swallowed it in order to gain some chakra and leave the scene before any other Konoha ninja arrived to look for the bodies. Exiting the paper tree, he looked up to the sky and noted that the rain has stopped. Gathering and focusing chakra to his legs, he jumped up to the tree branch and used Konoha ninja's favorite mode of transport.

Now while our favorite shinobi was jumping over the trees, he took a moment to realise that his, in his own opinion long mission of acting an idiot is finally done. With that he turned his gaze downwards, his body jumping on autopilot as most trees had the branches on the same level, and all of them were vertical. Convenient eh?...

His gaze settled at his jumpsuit and he couldn't stop his facial expression as he cringed in horror. If he wasn't a trained killer, a shinobi he would be crying anime tears. Alas, him being exhausted, both mentally and physically, allowed some of his annoyance to pass through, resulting in his left eye twitching.

'_Damn you Fu, couldn't you have thought of something i dunno... more normal, stealthier'_ He though as he neared the village, or what was left of it. He stopped about 100 meters away, hidden in the foliage, as the rule required all inbound ninja to drop down to the ground level to be visible from 'afar'. Even ANBU weren't an exception to this rule, as any ninja that went over the wall would be painted by the barrier and be attacked on sight.

While taking his breath on top of the hundred year old tree branch, he sensed a slight change in the wind, indicating a shunshin as the air is instantly pushed away from the offending object. This object being one of his colleagues that loved going on people's nerves. A slight ruffle of winds and leafs later and the presence that appeared in a spiraling ink shunshin could be recognisable.

Sai, the fucking poster boy of Root for removing your emotions, gave him one of those smiles that just creeped him out. Even after knowing the guy for nearly 9 years he still couldn't stand them. Sai most of the time purposely did them to either creep the hell out of you or annoy you. He did it twice the amount around him. Naruto was sure he did it to piss him off.

Sai threw him a ration bar that he clumsily caught, tired as hell. But he could . Because he was fucking Naruto Uzumaki, 16 year old official genin of Konoha, The Toad Sage, Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed fox and fucking cool as ice Root Shinobi. He spat death in the face every month and worked himself past tiredness every day.

If only that fucking pervert taught him anything worthwhile on the training trip. He nearly lost 3 years of training and missions on that journey that he could have spent in Konoha. Thank god for Shadow clone's. Every day of the training he would create 10 clones to train on chakra control and jutsu.

The 2 things Naruto was taught were not something he expected. Well the 1st one was okay, since he had 0% understanding of the fairer sex and the pervert actually knew what he was doing when he wanted to woo women for real.

The second things was a Jutsu. Ohh but not just any jutsu. A bigger flashier version of the Rasengan. When Naruto heard that he wanted to strangle the man. Ninja were not supposed to be flashy.

They were supposed to kill silently and from the shadows. That's what he was supposed to 'teach' him. Jutsu's should be used as a last resort.

Sure his newest and most deadly attack was a flashy as fireworks and inconspicuous as a chidori for silent assassination.

Why was it called an assassination jutsu again. Why the fuck didn't the pervert teach him his camouflage technique. At least he showed him the basics for espionage.

But he didn't need to like it. What was better. Draining a third of your chakra supply for a big boom attack that attacks the enemy on the cellular level or slit the bastard's throat with a kunai. His 'alias', the loud mouth brat would be to go with the big boom.

Munching down on the discusting ration, he looked at Sai with a tired expression, after a few minutes of the staring contest he sighed. He was just tired. Oh, who was he kidding, he wanted to find the nearest flat surface and fall asleep. The only thing keeping him running right now was the chakra pill and the Biju's chakra running through his tenketsu.

So he asked in a voice that reflected his state. ''Sai, you guys could have helped you know''

Sai dropped his face mask and stared at Naruto. Then he spoke ''Leader-sama ordered us not to intervene. He said that he had the up most confidence in you'' He said and Naruto snorted. Because of his status as a Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, it was both impossible and dangerous to remove all of his emotions.

''Well next time the village is attacked by 7 S class Shinobi tell Leader-sama to stuff it and help me'' Naruto shot back rudely, his nerves thinning, and his eyes dropping slightly. He managed to stead himself before he fell from a 60 foot drop face first.

Sai choose that moment to appeared by him, and placed one of Naruto's arms over his shoulder. ''Come on, the villagers are all waiting for their Hero'' He teased

Naruto let Sai carry him towards the village. As they dropped down on the road, Naruto spoke.

''In my pouch is the scroll with their bodies. Go and bring it to Jiji after you drop me of. Okay?'' Naruto asked, one foot in lala land. Then he silently jeered back. ''And do ask that old geezer if i can start wearing normal shinobi clothes. Something black. Not bright orange. Orange is not stealthy.'' He said and Sai muffled a chuckle.

They didn't detect Kakashi who was leaning back to a tree, hiding his presence. Kakashi was just about to jump in when Sai appeared in an ink shunshin. Given their interaction up until that point, he was greatly suprised to see them acting friendy, well as friendly as Sai could get, having his emotions removed.

Even by adding chakra he couldn't hear what was said, and had a fealing that he couldn't expose himself to use the sharingan to read their lips.

* * *

Konohagakure no Sato- village hidden in the leaves

Possible Pairings: Naruto X Shizuka/ Naruto X Samui/ Naruto X Kurotsuchi


	2. 六代目火影候補

Sticking out of a tree branch, less than a mile away from the Hidden Leaf village, was a plant. So what was so special about this plant you may ask yourselves. Well this rather particular venus fly-trap was wearing a coat. Inside the venus trap's extensions, a head and the upper body torso were visible.

The plant, man, plant-man, let's go with that for now. The plant-man had short green hair, yellow eyes, and was split into 2 different coloured halves. The plant-man's left side was white, while the right side was black.

The plant-man, what should we call him. Let's call him Zetsu. Back on track. Zetsu was currently sticking out of a tree branch partially exposed and was overlooking the crowd that parted as Naruto Uzumaki along with Sai entered the village.

''I never expected someone as powerful as Pein/Pain to be defeated'' Came a soft, voice of Zetsu. Seemingly commenting to itself. Or was he...

''**We've got to tell Tobi about this**'' A more gruff sound came, again from Zetsu. Apparently it had some kind of split personality disorder. That, or it was 2 different Zetsu's combined together.

''**Let's go**'' With those parting words, came the squelching sounds of the Venus trap closing in on itself and sinking back into the tree.

**Kumogakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Clouds**

Kumogakure is the hidden village of the Kaminari no Kuni, and was founded by the Shodaime Raikage. As As one of the Five Great Shinobi Nation, Kumogakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Raikage. Thus far there have been four Raikage, the most recent being A.

The village is located in a range of tall mountains, and is literally hidden in the clouds. The Raikage works in a large blue structure built into the tallest mountain.

Technologicallys uper tier architecture is based upon platforms placed onto these mountains. That however does not mean that the village doesn't have a ground flour.

There are walkways strewn about. Probably the most breathtaking village by it's looks, it has the strongest economy and it's a higly militarised village, having the largest amount of active ninja.

Most shinobi of this village seem to have a natural affinity for Raiton. Nintaijutsu, such as the Raiton no Yoroi, and kenjutsu are also promoted as preferred fighting styles in this village.

The standard attire for the shinobi from this village consists of a long, grey top which gathers just at the waist to give a sash-like appearance, with a matching coloured bottom. Over this they wear white, one-strapped flak jackets and arm as well as shin-guards.

Walking down a path that wedges through a forrest were three figures, one male, and 2 women.

It was the male that broke the comfortable silence of the sounds of Nature with a sigh. ''Ahh, what do we do '' Omoi, the male of the group said in a depressed voice.

Omoi is a young, dark-skinned Kumo-nin with short, spiky, white hair and dark eyes accentuated with lines curving upwards from the corners. He wears a dark outfit consisting of an overlong shirt with a hood, with red bandage hand guards, Kumogakure shin guards, and a black forehead protector. He is always seen with a thoughtful expression, as though always in deep contemplation and sucking on a lollipop. He also carries a long sword on his back.

The female walking right next to him shook her head as she turned around. ''Come onnnn. You've gotta be kidding me. You'r tirred already. We only just left the village'' Her voice, and posture even exasperated, was soft to the ears and had a nice look to it. The girl's name is Karui.

Karui is a dark-skinned kunoichi with long red hair and amber eyes. As noted by Omoi, she is flat-chested. She wears a long, short-sleeved dress with frilly edges complete with the Kumogakure flak jacket, two simple yellow earrings, fishnet stockings, thigh-high boots with white soles and a forehead protector which she wears like a bandanna. She also carries a long sword on her back.

Omoi looked at her, before his head turned back into it's normal straight forwards position. Eyes fixated on the road.''No not that. I was thinking of how the Raikage was acting when we left the village''

_Flashback_

Lord Raikage, a man who can lift boulders with ease. Had a muscular mass most body builders only had wet dreams of, one of the fiercest shinobi and the fastest man alive, was crying, no pouring tears as he spoke.

''Listen (*snif). We shall rescue Bee no matter what. We will save him'' Spoke the apparently very emotional man, as his head buckled a little before he stood up straighter in his chair. Omoi and Karui, seeing their fearless leader get so emotional couldn't help and shared his tears as they nodded to the Lord Raikage.

_Flashback end_

''what if the Raikage is still crying even now and his tears are dripping down even now and making a pond and then making it larger and larger until it makes a lake. And what if when we return it becomes all wet like the Hidden Rain (AME). What do we do then'' Omoi is a very cautious person and likes to think things through before acting, and as a result, gets lost in his thoughts quite often. He is more level-headed than his team-mate Karui, but has a habit of exaggerating the end result of minor things

''ah come on, give it a rest would ya. Something like that's imposibbel and you know it is. Tears can't create a lake no matter how hard somebody cries'' Karui groaned as her teamed overexaggerated, again.

The 2 suddenly stopped as Omoi looked at Karui quite seriously, over-seriously. ''Maybe for a normal person, but we are talking about Lord Raikage. Just think of the awesome amount of power he has'' Omoi said as he held up his hand, trying to use hand gestures to state the vastnes of it.

''He can cry himself a lake in no time.'' He then stopped and lowered his hand down. ''Actually forget I said anything about a lake. He could cry himself an ocean in no time. And if a giant wave from that ocean swallowed us up. What do we do then.'' Surelly the man must have hit his head as a baby.

Karui posture deflated as she spoke in desperation. ''Shut up. Stop. Listening you go on and on completely wears me out'' She said to the still serious looking Omoi, who still didn't seem to learn not to comment on certain aspect in a kunoichi plural team as he eyed, non-pervertedly of course, the last companion of this little group.

Samui is a fair-skinned woman of tall stature who generally wears a stoic, aloof expression on her face. She has blue eyes and straight, blonde hair framing her face cut in an asymmetrical bob style with the front bangs reaching her shoulders. She wears a very low-cut outfit which displays her sizeable cleavage, with mesh armour underneath, a short skirt and red hand guards, high boots, and what appears to be a modified Kumogakure flak jacket that covers her stomach only, similar to a girdle. She also has a tantō strapped horizontally to her lower back.

''I can understand somebody getting tired because of the weight of those gigantic brest of hers, but how can you be tired'' He said as he turned his head towards Karui, more importantly her flat chest. ''You don't have any breast'' This earned him a rather strong kick from the read head that sent him several feet away, landing onto his ass.

Samui, while slightly internally amused by their act, decided that she should put an end to this if they wanted to get anywhere. So moving a little closer to ascertain her authority, she looked at them with a flat look. ''enough of this you two, we are just starting out on our mission here''

By now Omoi got up and dusted himself from any well dust that cougt on him by his indignant ass landing. ''It will be days, over a week, before we reach Konoha. Do you really plan on keeping this up the whole way. We can't afford to keep wasting time like this. Now lets move out'' Truly time was of the essence. Their great Bee-sensei was gone, 'supposedly' taken by the Akatsuki, and the 2 of them were delaying their progress. Samui turned around and started Tree bouncing, followed closely by her teammates.

As opposed to the large, humongous tree's of Hi no Kuni, the tree's in Kaminari no Kuni were much thinner, so their way of transport was to propel themselves of the vertical side of the tree's, as opposed to the fast, straight forwards tree-dash of Konoha shinobi.

**Konoha- Sektor S-14 **

''Such devastation'' Were the words of the Chunin instructor Umino Iruka, as he looked at, what was once the proud village of Konohagakure.

The women by him, a shinobi teacher clad in civilian attire with a white blouse and red dress, commented to him in an attempt at humour. ''Guess you'll be teaching outside for a while.''

Iruka looked at the destroyed building of the Konoha Ninja Academy, a brief memory overtaking him, before he walked towards it. ''Come on, let's try to salvage something for the class.''

**Daimyo's Mansion- Konoha council meeting hall. Emergency Meeting SONG:Moonlight Talk **

In the chambers of the official Daimyo-Kage council meeting, several high ranking figures could be found. The head of the state, the Fire Damyo sat at the head of the table, behind him the banner of Hi no Kuni displayed 'proudly?'.

On his right was his advisors council, basically the people who ran the country, from the National Treasury, to the Housing and Medical development heads. The people were all politicians, who actually worked for the good of the land, who ran the country but couldn't do anything without Damyo's authorisation. Which wasn't that hard to get as the man didn't really seem to want any responsibility for ruling the land. All of them had files in front of them, containing damage reports, 'casualties' that have died without medical supplies to help them, destroyed food stock and more.

To the Daimyo's left was the High Shinobi council, consisting of the 2 Elders, Koharu and Homura, Danzo, ANBU commander , dressed in a white cloak and black trousers with bandages tied around his right leg, arm-guards, gloves and black sandals. He also has brown, spiky, hair and wears a mask with a dog motif inclusive of pointer ears, detailed eyebrows and three, thick stripes with two along either sides of his cheek and one on his forehead. He has also been depicted at times with a line running across the right side of his mask to its eye hole. And finally the Jonin commander, the second in command of the entire Shinobi force bar ANBU black ops, Shikaku Nara.

Homura Mitokado is a former member of the dissolved Team Tobirama. He and his team-mate Koharu Utatane now serve as members of the Konoha Council. Ever since childhood, Homura and Hiruzen Sarutobi have been close friends. Under the guidance of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, they and their third team-mate, Koharu, have completed numerous missions together. On one mission during the First Shinobi World War after her team along with Danzō, Torifu and Kagami had been surrounded by the brutal Kinkaku Force Homura voiced that with their inferior numbers there was no way they could win. He later watched on in shock as Hiruzen, Danzō and ultimately the Second offered himself up as a decoy to allow them to escape. When Hiruzen became the Third Hokage, Homura and Koharu became his councillors. With their years of experience and knowledge and their unending effort to make Konohagakure a better place, they eventually gained similar respect and social status as the Hokage himself. Thanks to his prudence and efficiency, Homura especially has gained the absolute faith of the Konoha shinobi.

Homura decided to break the momentary silence as everyone sat down to their seats.''Now regarding the Akatsuki, we intend to continue to porsuit them, with the assistance from our allies''

The head of Treasury pushed his glasses up as he took a short breath and began his speech ''With everything that's happened with your village, those of us from the Land of Fire shall provide full support in your rebuilding efforts.''

Homura hmms in satisfaction at that prospect, as the undertaking will be a humongues finnancial headache. The man continued with his short speach.

''First we will put together a budget, then we will ease tension between'' he said as he shuffled through some files, before Danzo interrupted ''more importantly. There is a more precedent matter at hand.'' Danzo said, and taking in the momment, seeing as he had everyone's attention, Danzo continued to speak. ''I speak of the selection of the new Hokage''

He said as everyone in the room straightened. Shikaku cast him a sidelong glance. '_I knew it, here it comes'_. He thought inwardly as Danzo tried to take the spot he has coveted for years.

The Daimyo decided to speak his mind now, while using his fan to cool himself of the Hi no Kuni's heated air. ''Would it not be possible to simply bide our time until Tsunade awakens.''

''With respect my Lord, that's impractical, Tsunade remains in a comatose state'' Koharu ansered respectfully towards the man, that held oh so much power. The damiyo nods, a silent instruction for her to continue.

''The village is still in ruins and we just don't know when Tsunade will awaken if she ever does. We are unable to steer the village forward as it currently stands. Besides she is the one who allowed the village to be destroyed'' she spoke her mind. Sharing the same line of though as Danzo in her inadequate actions to secure the safety of the village.

The Daimyo nodded, and with a snap of his wrist, folded the small fan. ''I really hoped Jiraya would follow her as the Hokage. I liked him. It saddens me that he is no longer among us.'' The man lowered his head in a silent respectful gesture to the deceased shinobi. A Shinobi whose perverted actions shall we herald across the land by Icha Icha lowers alike.

Having said that, the Daimyo continued the line. ''So who else is up for consideration then, hmm'' The silent mommnet was cut short, and the man didn't seem to have much opinion of his own after that.

Danzo seing his chance started to speak .''In that case, I...'' His sentence was quickly interrupted by Shikaku Nara, a firm follower of the third's peaceful regime. ''In that case i nominate Kakashi Hatake'' He said in a gruff voice, and Danzo narrowed his one visible eye at the man who possibly ruined his plans in that moment.

With another flick, the fan was once again open and the daimyo was using it. ''Oh hooo. How interesting. The son of the White Fang. Yes why not sounds good to me'' He said, not having even though it over.

The Fire Daimyō has a fickle and indecisive nature and is easily swayed in his decisions through biases as well as external influences. When situations call for fast, important decisions, he makes his advisers do the whole work: the one who convinces him most is the "winner".

Turning his head towards his own advisors he spoke. ''And what to the rest of you think about that'' Que work.

The advisors spoke between themself. One voiced his reputation ''He is renowedm powerful and vertious. He'd do well.'' And so the idea was taken for consideration

''But isn't he a bit too young'' The Minister of Agriculture asked.

''I belive Minato, the Yondaime was even younger when he took the office'' The oldest of the advisors said of what he remembered.

''I can't quite remember who was Kakashi hatake's master'' The Treasury Advisor asked the Advisors.

''The Yondaime'' Homura answered, and the Daimyo's face lit up in realization.

''oh hoo, if I am not mistake the Yondaime's master was Jiraya and Jiraya's master was the Sandaime. It would seem that the matter practically settles itself. All right then'' Seeing his chance quickly leaving his grasp Danzo quickly acted, and spoke in a voice that held the mildest of iritation.

''But the third Hokage's teaching virtually lead to the village being annihalated.'' His outburst caused the Daimyo to cover his face with the fan as he was 'spooked'.

Danzo continued in a resolute, passion filled voice, that allowed no quarrel. ''Akatsuki's leader, the one who flattened our village, he was former student of Jiraya's. This is what happens when one sympathises with foreigners and teaches them nin-jutsu. They were too naive, every single one of them. That naivate has continued for generations. It allowed our ally the sand to betray us, set Orochimaru on a campaign to destroy the Leaf ''Danzo stopped for a momment to mull his thoughts over. This momment was but the briefest in real time. After the short silence, he contined in an ever firmer voice.

''Allowed the Akatsuki to rise up, and now Sasuke, the last surviving Uchiha has become a rogue ninja and is working underground. What sort of Hokage do we need now'' He asked the people in the room.

''Someone able to clean up this entire mess. Someone who can reform the shinobi world and who will enforce all our shinobi laws'' He finished his sentence, before standing up, for the added effect on the daimyo, in order to place himself as the image of the new leader.

''The answer is simple. That hokage should be me''The Yami no Shinobi said, while looking straight into the daimyo's eyes, a simple yet ahh so heavy sentence sounding through the room.

One of the advisors who seemed to be caught in the speech looked at the daimyo. ''My lord'' Causing the daimyo to look at him. ''Why dont we allow Lord Danzo to handle the situation for now''

The daimyo blinked, and made a face gesture, like he contemplated the meaning of life. This statement could be on the same level of seriosness, as the future of the shinobi world could be turned here.

Shikaku, fearing the Damyo will agree to that tried to step in before it was too late. ''an aggressive and one sided way of though is not how we do things'' But was ultimately stopped by the daimyo nodding in Danzo's direction .''Yes, I've decided. Danzo I hereby name you Rokudaime Hokage'' The fire Damyo said while pointing his foldded fan in Danzo's direction.

A bead of sweet fell down Shikaku's head, as he began to fear fot the leaf's future.

**Root Undergound Base**

The sound of a cane clapping against the floor could be heard if one would find themselves in the ROOT Underground Facility, the sound echoing through its manny halls. One Shinobi no Yami, Rokudaime Hokage Koho (**_Kōho-_** candidate) as the coronation service was still due, was moving at a leisurely pace towards the medical wing, followed by Fu Yamanaka.

When he was younger, Danzō was a hot-headed and eager ninja with a strong desire to prove himself, and had a friendly rivalry with Hiruzen Sarutobi. As he grew up, Danzō turned into completely calm, cold and collected individual who did not allow his emotions to surface. Due to being raised in times of war, Danzō's beliefs differed from those of the Hokage as he fells that the interests of the village should be placed above all else, even ethics and morals.

An extremist, Danzō preferred to directly eliminate threats through assassination and execution rather than diplomacy and negotiation. Danzō possessed a fanatical adherence to the ideals of a shinobi, believing they must sacrifice absolutely everything for the village.

Manny see the man as heartless because of such views, but the man is loyal to the village, and wants to see it prosper, whilst believing he is the one who could accomplish this the best.

Despite his reputation as a militarist, Danzō ultimately sought peace for the ninja world, one he would achieve by uniting all shinobi forces under Konoha's control. As such, he sought the title of Hokage, waiting patiently for decades before an opportunity arose. To that end, he worked in the shadows to ensure that this future came to fruition. He used Root to eliminate potential threats to Konohagakure with or without the consent of the Hokage and to further him along the path to achieving the position, as he believed he was best prepared for the "necessary" transition. Because of the nature of his actions, Danzō could not allow the details of what he had done to become public knowledge, and thus he branded members of Root with cursed seals to prevent them from revealing his secrets.

Most people who are aware of the Secret Branch of ANBU, believe them to be mindless drones. This statement is inaccurate. Each and every shinobi has been taught how to use their heads, during the ruthless training regime that not all survive.

The final act of purging oneself of emotions is to kill the person closest to you. Not all Root shinobi have gone through this however. Danzo is a firm believer that a shinobi should kill their emotions, or be able to completely suppress them, as taught by Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime hokage and the man who wrote the Shinobi rules of conduct.

Despite his amoral, pitiless, brutal and draconian methods, Danzō had a sense of nobility, dignity, integrity and honour. He, after a long internal struggle, volunteered to buy time for his team-mates when they were younger, though Hiruzen Sarutobi beat him to it, only for both of them be ordered to retreat by Nidaime.

Reaching the door's seperating the Medical ward from the rest of the facility, Danzo was a few steps away from one of his greatest investments. Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Danzo approached the boy at the age of 5, after he failed in persuading the Sandaime to allow him entrance to the Academy.

The biggest problems came when Hiruzen became intrigued by his lack of action in the village. Danzo had to let him out into the light, but devised a façade that would allow him to work for Root the longest. Naruto would play the class idiot, making sure that he stayed under the Hokage's radar the longest, whilst simultaneously doing missions for Root. The plan was than once Hiruzen stood down, Naruto would be either moved back to the ANBU, or, depending on how long he stayed in 'regular forces' and how much respect he gathered from the civilian and shinobi population, to show his 'support' to Danzo.

As Danzo stepped in, he immediately came face to face with Operative Toka, the chief Root Medical Officer. The young woman had short purple hair, one bang over her left eye and 2 hanging down over her forehead. Her Eyes were mint green, with the slightest sparkle of mischief in them. She was a little shorter than Danzo himself, her hair reaching his chin. The medic was holding a form as she was checking a blacked-out, exhausted Naruto. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she offered the slightest bow with her head, still not stopping her work.

''Lord Danzo'' The woman said in an equilent manner, sparing the man the briefest of eye glances.

''Toka'' He said in his gruff, charred voice, but filled with power, a voice that had the total loyalty and respect of Root, as he looked at Naruto laying on the medical bed. He absently pated the scroll given to him earlier by operative Sai, containing the bodies of Nagato and Konan.

The woman finished with her check over, as she twindled around and brough the medical chart her up. She absent mindedly went over it once again, in order to give him the shortest possible report with the most effective info on his operative.

''One Naruto Uzumaki, administered for severe Chakra depletion, fatigue and exhaustion. His chakra pathways are slightly damaged but working, showing overstrain, suspected due to the usage of senjutsu and Biju's chakra within a short time span. The subject has 3 cracked ribs and a strained scapula, which should be healed within a few days. His biceps and triceps, along with the palm tissue are the most damaged parts of his muscle system. My guess is that it was caused by repeated usage of the Rasenshuriken during the fight. His skeletal muscle in those regions show depletion of mass and the tendons are close to separating from the bones. Having the incresed healing properties given by the Kyuubi is a double edged sword, as it would seem that it's chakra is slowly knitting it back into place, but is also damaging it at the same rate, meaning he will need to go through a short rehabilitation. All other vitals are in the normal'' She finished her report, placing the chart down on the table as she locked up to her commander's eyes.

Danzo kept silent during the explanation, most of the technical jabber going over his head, but he did understand the gist of it, as he made a low humming noise, along with a nod of his head, as he closed his eyes in contemplation.

''How long till he wakes up and is ready for a verbal report and active duty'' He asked, as the woman walked over to a nearby cabinet, taking out an injection. ''He should wake up in a few days, but will need to stay on abeyance for at least a week. '' The woman responded.

Danzo once again looked at the Root operative, before turning arround and with the tap of his cane walking towards his office where the report given to him about Tsunade's condition was waiting.


	3. The Aftermath of Pein

_Flashback- Jonin Team Leader Assignments_

Born into the Sarutobi clan to Sasuke, Hiruzen was a prodigy who truly stood out in talent. He and his former team-mates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were students of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage. He was also trained by Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. While once a close friend of Shimura, they became distant becouse of the one-sided rivalry with Hiruzen who always managed to be a step ahead of him.

During the First Shinobi World War, Team Tobirama along with Danzō, Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi were pursued by enemy Kumogakure ninja. Knowing that one of them would need to be a sacrificial decoy so the others can escape, Hiruzen volunteered. However, Tobirama chose to be the decoy instead, naming Hiruzen his successor while driving a further wedge between his student and Danzō. Later in his life, he married Biwako and fathered at least two children, Asuma Sarutobi and another who has yet to be seen in the series. His children would later make him a grandfather to at least two grandchildren: Konohamaru Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi's child.

The Meeting hall was a rather spacious 20x40 meter large hall. The floor consisted of grey stone, over which a large red carpet with golden edges was strewn over, down the length of the room. Behind the Kage desk, was the sign of the Hokage over a large green flag.

In front of the Hokage, several of the high ranking Jonin and about 40 chunin, including academy teachers and the hokage's aids stand proud, and of to the side are the Ino-Shika-Cho clan heads, Genma Shirunui, ANBU member Tenzo,Shibi Aburame and Tsume Inuzuka.

The aged leader was reading the newest team assignments and just approached the more important brackets. Clearing his throat he spoke. ''Team 7 consist of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha'' The proclamation caused quite a stir within the ranks, but since these were ninja, it was moderate and limited to whispers.

Off on the side, Shikaku Nara was thinking over the possible problems and possible reasons why both Sasuke and Naruto were placed on the same team. It was both a high danger of team disunity and two VIP targets for the enemies of the Leaf.

The Sandaime continued after the short pause as he waited for them to calm down, before delivering the news. ''I will be placing Kakashi Hatake as the team Leader'' Now that caused different reaction amongst them, most of the people who knew of Kakashi wondering about his motives.

Iruka stood in the second row of the chunin section, and managed to overhear Genma, who moved in closer and Kotetsu talk about that little tad-bit of info. It was Genma, with the senbon in his mouth, who spoke first.''You know what I heard. Kakashi has never passed a genin that he's been in charge of before'' He said as he conversed with Kotetsu. Kotetsu has long, spiky, black hair and dark eyes. He has a strip of bandage running across the bridge of his nose and a light-coloured marking on his chin. He wears the standard attire of a Konoha chunin shinobi complete with a forehead protector and a light green coloured, chunin flak jacket.

Kotetsu's face didn't change, but he did glance at him, and spoke in a hushed voice. ''Is the Hokage trying to prevent Naruto from advancing or something?'' Izumo than pipped in. ''And Sasuke too?'' Iruka gave a silent gasp than nobody heard, and his gaze narrowed at the Copy-nin's back. He though about it. '_He couldn't be'_

The third, who lit up his pipe with a small application of Katon Natured chakra asked, his eyes fixated on the Copy-nin. ''Understood Kakashi?''

''Yes sir'' Kakashi answered, his demeanour SCREAMING nonchalance and lazy.

The Sandaime nodded in appreciation and his eyes went back onto the list. ''Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka. Kurenai Yuhi will be in charge of those 3''

The Sandaime finished and looked up, as Kurenai straightened up, slightly shaken. ''Y..Yes sir'' she managed to hide her stutter. Kurenai Yuhi was the newest promoted Jonin, and wasn't planing on becoming a sensei so soon.

''Now Kurenai this is your first time being in charge of genin isn't. Keep in mind that the jonin in mind will decide the team future.'' The Hokage said in a comforting manner, trying to eliminate her nervousness but stress out the importance of the position

''team 10 will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi'' The aged and wise Hokage said as he placed the list down onto the table in front of him, and looked up just as his son gave a cocky grin.

Asuma Sarutobi replied quickly in a confident manner. ''Roger'' Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shikaku smirking at him.

* * *

''We've been waiting for you'' Homura stated simply, his back turned towards the Sandaime, who just closed the slide doors to the room.

Koharu decided to pipe in. ''It shouldn't have taken you this long to assign the team leaders'' She turned her head to look at the Sandaime who walked towards the sofa opposite of them at a leisurely pace, a pace that a normal 50+ human would take for most of non-critical occurences.

The Sandaime didn't even glance at them as he sat down and replied in an even, relaxed tone. ''You are right. I was busy showing Naruto's apartment to Kakashi''

Homura quickly looked up from his tea, and pushed his glasses up, the light from the sun reflecting in them. ''That's why you are here''

Koharu took over, and spoke in a tone that had the slightest bit of irritation ''You placed both Naruto and Sasuke on the same team. And I've heard you put Kakashi Hatake in charge of them'' The tone had both an accusation and a question mark in it.

The Sandaime removed his Kage hat as he took a sip of tea, before putting the cup down, looking up into her eyes and litting up his pipe. ''Yes, I think he is right for the job''

''I doesn't matter If he is right or not'' she continued in a little more hushed voice. ''What do you plan to do if Naruto's on a mission and that thing inside of him suddenly goes wild and attack's again'' The woman was concerned about it. She was apathetic towards the child, but the Biju sealed inside of him posed a problem. A problem she pointed out.

''And that's not the only concern.'' Homura stated. 'There's a danger that outsiders might target him'' Out of the 2 elders, he was more inclined towards liking the child. However, he placed the security and safety of the village fist and foremost.

''The wisest course of action is to keep Naruto confined to the village. And you must explain why you would team Naruto up with Sasuke'' Koharu said in her polite but demanding voice, the voice of people who got what they wanted because of their station.

Behind the wall, Danzo Shimura was listening in, his eyes narrowed. '_Are you plotting to give the Uchiha control over the Nine Tails. Hiruzen you're quite the sly one._' He thought as his lips moved up into a smirk. There was no way for Naruto to fall into such clutches. However the situation also set his plans back a little.

'_Naruto won't be able to fail, or show too much skill he shouldn't posses, Kakashi could see it. He will have to continue acting a fool for now' _He shook his head at the unfortunate turn of events and walked away, trying to think of a way to adjust his plans.

_Flashback Kai_

**_Konohagure no Sato, Sector B-2_**

Back to the sinkhole that was wreckage filled Konoha, the ninja were scouring arround, some trying to locate resources and items, building supplies, anything useful for the rebuilding effort. Some were tasked with cleaning out the area, as nothing could be built over such a debris littered field. The things that were useful would be taken over to the Construction Camp where carpenters and builders alike set up shop to start on the rebuilding effort. A job that 2 Green Beast were currently doing, shouting about the flames of youth the entire time and driving away some foreign constructors.

There was also a large amount of shinobi showering the debris for any sign of people trapped, or injured. The medical staff was constantly receiving wounded as more and more people were uncovered.

Kotetsu looked at a 'piece' of a building that miraculously was still intact. ''Hey over here'' He called to the nearest chunin. ''Ahh, don't you think we can still use this timber'' He asked as he used his hand to pass over it, feeling out the smoothness and hardness.

''Looks like it'' Kisuke Fujii, a chunin that usually works on the east wall battle bastion 3, said as he looked at the piece, large piece of wood.

''However, there's nothing left that was built by the previous generations of Hokage.'' Kotetsu started as he stood up and looked at the village ''Everything's gonna, who could have imagined that this would happen.'' He stated grimly as his gaze turned towards gates, where the largest amount of debris was located.

Genma, who was leaning on a piece of concrete sticking out, shewed on his senbon as he spoke'' Yeah, except the Hokage's legacy isn't just the village'' The sentence brough small smiles out of the group.

''That's' right'' The three Konoha shinobi turned their heads to look at the point zero, where Tenzo, or Yamato as known by the rest of the non ANBU populace, as neither was his real name, was surrounded by a couple jonin. He was adding chakra to his lungs as he gave a small morale boost.

''All of us are still here'' With his voice, filled with confidence, he quickly molded chakra going through a quick set of hand seals, and slammed his hands down with a shout. '' **Mokuton: Renchūka no Jutsu (****_Wood Style: Row Houses Jutsu_****)''**

Yamato's chakra manipulated the earth underneath, mixing the water found in the soil, and adding his Yin chakra, giving the life-force properties that were required to successfully form the Wood element and the ninja around watched as root's sprang out of the ground, before 2 rows of small houses burst forth from the earth. Most ninja's cheered, while Yamato was on the ground, wheezing and panting, sweet dripping from his forehead, trying to catch his breath.

''Yeah, in this rate the village will be rebuilt in no time at all'' a nearby jonin stated, already celebrating, when Yamato looked at the results of his jutsu, breath wheezing and panting ''Oh, sure,... easy (*pant) for you to say'' His shoulder slumped as he realized how much work he will have to do now.

**Outside the walls, staging camp 3**

Sakura Haruno, dressed in a civilian attire, consisting of a blue skirt, yellow blouse and red shirt with the white circle on the back, was walking around, looking for her teammates. It has been 2 days since the battle of the Leaf, ever since Naruto came back from his training on the Mt Myobokuzan and nobody has heard a peep, ever since Sai brought him back to the village.

Finally, she spotted the pale skinned Sai, and quickly ran up to him. ''Sai'' she half-shouted and the Root Operative stopped mid-step, and turned around casually.

''Yes, Ugly?'' Sai found a little joy in seeing the reactions his comments made, and that was the first step in trying to find his emotions. Sakura nearly face faulted, before she sent a glare at his direction, first shaking and a vein throbbing on her FOREHEAD.

Sakura took a deep breath, unless she sent Sai flying over the wall, before asking. ''Do you know where Naruto is Sai. I haven't seen him since you walked through the gates 2 days ago'' Sai kept his fake smile on, even when Kakashi hoped down. and stood on her left side, leaning on the planks that were deposited there. Reaching for his book, he asked in a manner that most people would find normal, but it sent some alarms in Sai's head spinning.

''Yes, Sai, where is Naruto'' Kakashi said, his eye fixated on the book, but keeping Sai in his peripheral vision, trying to bring the Root shinobi on his toes. Kakashi was one of the few who had the knowledge of the Root faction, and was never at easy around Sai.

Sai just kept smiling. ''I don't know where Naruto is. Why don't you check the medical tents. He must have been tired after fighting Pein'' The sentence had several meanings. One was the deflection of the idea that Sai knew where Naruto was. The second added weight to it as he seemingly gave a random place to find him. The final 2 were that Naruto was tired and was somewhere healing and that he was more powerful than them. The 2 members of the original team 7 were left looking at him, that is untill a voice they didn't expect called them out.

''Super long time no see Sakura, Kakashi'' the voice came from one and only Tazuna, the master bridge builder. The 3 looked into the direction the voice came and came face to face with Tazuna and a more grown-up Inari.

Sakura blinked, before moving a little closer. ''Tazuna, Inari is that you. You've grown up'' She commented and the kid blushed a little, before looking around.

''Hey Sakura, where's Naruto'' Inari asked. The 2 have been hearing stories about the _Hero of the Leaf_, how he fought of and defeated Pein, and brought everyone back to life. Tazuna was having a hard time believing that the same brat from a couple years ago could do such acts.

Sakura looked at Sai, who just kept on smiling. The smile creeping Tazuna out a bit, as he moved a little farther from the pale nin. ''That's what we were trying to find out''

Sai didn't give any outward reaction, but if he did, it most likely would have been a shrug. He couldn't convince them otherwise, but he won't confess.

''I am working as a carpenter now. We accepted the hidden leaf's commission and here we are to help rebuild. Sakura-chan you are even prettier than I remember. We figured we could come and say hi'' Inari complimented Sakura who blushed slightly, while Tazuna approached Kakashi to exchange a few words.

**Root underground base, Medical wing**

''..and that's when i sealed the bodies of the Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan'' Naruto finished his report, whilst resting on the medical bed, the beep of the heart monitor the only other sound in the sterile room.

Danzo was a little surprised when Naruto recounted what he remembered from Pein's story, and the mention of his involvement in it, but kept an otherwise stoic and expressionless, cool air around him and a stony visage, only interrupting Naruto once during his report.

When Danzo walked in, Tako, the woman who held the most emotions as she spent the lowest amount of time on the field, well the most apart from Naruto, was berating Naruto on his jutsu's usage, who just rolled his eyes at the woman. He knew she was right, but he didn't have much choice in the matter.

Naruto interrupted Danzo's contemplation. ''Sir?'' Danzo heard the hidden inquisitive in Naruto's voice. ''Can i stop wearing that .._thing_.. please'' If Danzo was a man who expressed his emotions, he would have smirked at the scoff Naruto added to the description of his clothes. The orange jumpsuit was truly the epitome of Kill Me clothes, and only an idiot would wear them.

Naruto for his part managed to keep the pleading and desperation out of his voice, but you could see in his eyes that he really, really begged the man for it. He wanted ninja clothes dammit.

* * *

Sunagakure is the hidden village of the Kaze no Kuni and was founded by the First Kazekage. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Sunagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Kazekage, who resides in a spherical sand solid structure in the centre of the village. There have been five Kazekage, the most recent being Gaara.

The Puppet Technique seem to be common techniques among Sunagakure ninja. Shinobi from this village believe that the accomplishment of a mission predominates the lives of the ninja trying to accomplish it. As such, they are known to be ruthless in battle, meaning to them that failure is not an option. Should failure seem inevitable, a Suna shinobi would almost surely try to make a success of their mission in some way or another as seen when Kankurō secretly retrieved from a piece of Sasori's clothing as a means to track Akatsuki to their hideout. Most shinobi from this village seem to have an affinity for Wind Release.

The standard attire of this village consists of blue or black uniforms underneath flak jackets of various shades of beige to better blend with their natural environment and include shoulders guards. Sand shinobi also tend to wear a common headpiece consisting of a head-wrap and cloth neck-covers to aid against the sun and sandstorms with a headband on top.

A natural defence of Sunagakure is its location in the desert with the protection of lack of water and sandstorms to discourage large-scale invasions. Sunagakure itself lies in a fortified valley behind cliffs of rock. The passage to travel into the valley is in a cleft between two cliff faces which provides a natural defence for the village making the area very hard to attack from the ground. The outside cliff face facing the desert has been terraced for a place for defending shinobi to stand up against assaulting forces. The buildings inside seem to be made of clay or stucco which would help to keep the buildings cool and allow them to also withstand the raging sand storms that are common in the area.

Sunagakure was founded by the First Kazekage, who gathered the desert-dwelling shinobi under his control with his overwhelming power. At some point, the village would come to possess Shukaku, and in the coming years the beast was sealed into three different hosts so that its abilities could be studied. The Third Kazekage was able to emulate Shukaku's abilities, earning recognition as the strongest Kazekage in history.

Some time in Sunagakure's history they created the Puppet Brigade in an attempt to create a technique that would give life to their puppets in order to increase their combat effectiveness. Research for such a technique was started and Chiyo eventually developed One's Own Life Reincarnation, but use of the technique came at too high a price at needing the user's life to complete the technique, thus the research was called off and the village continued to use normal puppets.

We find ourselves seeing a Suna shinobi, clad in a cat-eared hoodie clothes, working on the mechanism for his newest puppet. Puppets are used as weapons by puppeteers. They are most often humanoid-looking creations, but depending on the creator, can resemble anything. They are fashioned in a manner that uses every part as a weapon, giving the puppeteer a myriad of ways to manipulate it. Puppets are long-ranged type weapons that can be used offensively, defensively or for supplementary reasons, and are controlled via Chakra Threads. Because of their design, the weak point of any puppet is its joints.

The mechanism included in these tools are complicated, but simple enough that they don't downgrade the value of the puppets, but are delicate and must be worked on by a masterful hands.

''This one's proving to be quite a challenge. But that just means it will be a great puppet once I master it'' Kankuro, the brother of the Kazekage said over his shoulder, while he focussed on the puppet's left arm trap mechanism.

''I wondered why you have been cuped up in here for so long, working on a new puppet'' His sister Temari, taunted back. The sister of the Kazekage wore a short-sleeved, black kimono that reaches down to her legs, with slits along the side and a more revealing neckline. With a red sash tied around her waist, she was sporting fingerless black gloves.

'' Yeah, this one's a bit complicated to assemble, and I wasn't cupped up.'' Kankuro indignitly shot back, turning his head towards Temari, initiated by the fact that she claims that whenever he focuses on his puppets, she says he's cuped up. Their argument was broken by a smooth, young voice of a man that entered the room.

''Are you preparing for war'' That voice would belong to Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage, who was wearing his casual attire, a white desert coat, over a blue kimono. As he asked Kankuro looked back at his puppets in contemplation. ''In a way. You've heard what happened to Konoha, at this point nothing would surprise me''

Temari, leaning on her battle-fan, spoke in solemn tone as she looked at her youngest sibling ''The leaf is our ally, we can't shrug this of like someone else's problem'' As she said that the mood in the room lowered a bit, the situation painfully aware to all of them.

''Rebuilding Konoha won't be easy'' Kankuro said with a sigh.

''They also have to fill the void left by their Hokage's absence'' The news od Danzo being a Rokudaime Koho didn't spread through the Leaf ranks yet, so it should be understandable that the Suna nins didn't know about it yet.

''Your right, both politically nad psychologically, being without their leader, it has to hurt. Frankly, can they get over of what the Akatsuki did to them without their Hokage.'' After a few moments of silence, Kankuro stopped as he pricked himself on a pin, and looked at his brother after sucking on the wounds.''Gaara?''

Gaara was silent for several seconds, before a gentle smile broke out over his face, as he remembered his best friend.''I don't know.'' A drama pause. ''But at least the Leaf village still has him'' The statement brough confident smirks to the elder siblings faces, as Gaara walked out of the room, towards the council chambers where a meeting over Konoha will be discussed.

* * *

Inside the medical tent that housed the Godaime Hokage, Sakura and Shizune were looking at her,hoping, praying for the aged woman to wake up. Out of the 2, Sakura was taking it much harder, as she was younger and didn't see all the horrors of the Shinobi world yet, she didn't know how to cope with such loss yet, add that to the fact that Naruto still hasn't been seen or visited made her worry. That knuckle head thought of the woman as a mother, and it was ...troubling.

''Dont worry Sakura'' Shizune said as she placed a comforting hand over her shoulders ''Lady Tsunade will recover, I'm sure of it'' Shizune steeled herself, her voice, as Sakura needed all the help she could get right in that moment.

''yeah'' Sakura said, a little more life in her body after that statement, and it made the young woman smile to see her manage.

In that moment Choji walked in with a large pile of rice balls ''Hey, I brought lunch'' As he moved the plate towards the table, Shizune brough Ton-ton onto the same table, the little pig trying to reach for a rice ball, but the 3 conscious people weren't paying attention to the piglet.

Sakura, seeing the amount of rice balls, decided to state the obvious, a habit from her genin days. ''Choji, we can't eat all of thes'' Howevere, Choji has already finished eating one, and was moving towards another. ''No problem i can eat them'' He reasoned, the Akimichi stomach ruling his brain patterns.

That caused her temper to come back, and she shouted in his face, while her fist trembled. Her voice was accusatory and could have woken up the dead. Too bad it didn't wake up Tsunade. ''That was your plan all along, wasn't it'' Choji backed away a little. He knew, from observing Naruto get trashed and thrown around, how hard she punches people, and he wasn't lloking for a test run in her emotional state.

'' Yeah, yeah,okay, you caught me, but you really should eat Sakura. It's not good for you to stay like this'' Choji refered to her act. The man was also concerned about Naruto, as he was his running buddy in the academy, but was confident that the genin/Sage would be back soon.

* * *

''Toka-san, when can I get up'' Came the annoyed voice of the resident Kyuubi Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. He has been hold up in the medical wing for 4 days and his patience was running thing. Be it real or alias, Naruto did not like hospitals.

Toka who was working on some antidotes, sighed as she looked at her current medical charge. Most of his bone muscle was back and all he needed to do was go through a short rehabilitation, but Naruto didn't seem to want to wait for it to heal to rehabilitate.

''Well'' Naruto probed seeing that he had the woman's attention, and Tako got up from her chair. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and sent a mild glare of annoyance in his direction.

The woman was one of the ones who haven't went through the emotion removal process, but her medical skills were invaluable to Danzo. ''Why can't you sit still'' She asked as she moved closer to remove the needles, before she left to ask Danzo if she should release him. Naruto thought about his best possible excuse, but in the end settled for a shrug of his shoulders.

''I don't really like hospitals''


	4. Kumo in Konoha

What is a ninja, what is it's essence, it's meaning. What does it mean for a person to be ninja.

A shinobi is a covert agent, a mercenary of the elemental nations. The functions of the ninja include doing manual labour, acting as escorts, espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, and open combat in certain situations. Their covert methods of waging war contrasted the ninja with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat. In times of war, ninja will come together to defend their villages and land. The clearest characteristic of a shinobi is their ability to manipulate chakra to create and use techniques.

**_Wiki info, educate the masses:_**

_Ninja_ is a reading of the two kanji "忍者". In the native _kun'yomi_ kanji reading, it is pronounced _shinobi_, a shortened form of the transcription _shinobi-no-mono_ . These two systems of pronouncing kanji create words with similar meanings. The underlying connotation of _shinobi_ ''忍'' means "to steal away" and by extension "to forbear", hence its association with stealth and invisibility. _Mono_ (者) means "a person". It also relates to the term _shinobu_, which means _to hide_. The word shinobi, also has the same kanji sign as ''_endure''. Kunoichi_, meaning a female ninja, supposedly came from the characters くノ一 (pronounced _ku_, _no_ and _ichi_), which make up the three strokes that form the kanji for "woman" (女).

Darkness, the enviroment in which a shinobi thrives. Darkness, as the polar opposite to brightness, is understood to be an absence of visible light. It is also the appearance of black in a colored space. A shinobi must learn how to live in darkness, how to work in darkness, and how to kill in darkness. These are the basics of ROOT training. When one masters his enviroment, one can thrive in said enviroment.

The only visible light in the dark room was given by the flame of the candle in the far room was small, and contained only one chair, one desk and one candle. In the center of the room, illuminated slightly by the brightness of the flames, were not normal people. Not normal shinobi.

The Shinobi, adorning animal face masks, and black cloaks, were kneeling in front of one person. The mentioned person, was giving a short speech, satisfaction running through his vanes. ''The essence of a ninja, is to operate in secret, but there are times when a man who moves in the shadows must step out into the light. And for me that time is now.'' Danzo, Yami no shinobi spoke, the constriction of his muscles that are used to move one's mouth, the only movement in the room. As he gazed as the ROOT shinobi kneeling in front of him, he spoke, his voice traveling through the room.

''I hope i can continue to count on your continued loyalty'' Danzo, was siting and gazing at his personal Root division still present in the leaf, 20 shinobi strong. He already sent runners to some of his forward bases to send a half of their force back. This would add about 100 ANBU shinobi to the village in this time of need, the presence to instill his power

''Yes sir'' they chorused as one, and with a satisfied nod from Danzo, all but 3 vanished from sight. Still bowed, right fist placed onto the ground, left hand over the left knee, the 3 remaining shinobi stood still, not acting without command.

* * *

The sounds of the forest, the chirping of the birds and the slight ruffle of the leaves the winds caused, were the things that accompanied the 3 Kumo ninja. Sunlight creeped through the branches as they walked toward the village of Konohagakure no Sato.

''Ahh, what to do'' Mussed Omoi out loud, as they made their was closer towards their objective. Karui, annoyed by her teammate, looked at him with the slightest if twitch in her left eyebrow. ''What now'' She leveled him a glare.

Omoi put his hand on his chin, holding it up, as a blush made it's way onto his face. ''It's just, what if there are tons of really pretty girls in the hidden leaf village. And what if all those beautiful women totally come after me'' Omoi spoke out loud, not noticing the deadpan expression from Karui. Samui just keep her eyes on the road, not really listening to her subordinates.

''I was trying to figure out what would i do'' Said the Kumo teen, honestly worried about such a situation happening. His analytical mind was already coming up with the most absurd of possibilities one could think of.

Karui waved her hand around herself, as she spoke in a sarcastic voice, mocking her teammate's line of thought. ''Oh, i see. Why not just date all of them since you are such a ladies man. Left and right up and down'' That last part was more of a murmur, as she looked at Omoi, awaiting the fantastic and unrealistic reply from the guy.

''Yeah but, when it's time to leave Konoha'' Here he stopped and took a dramatic pause ''What of they told me they loved me and can't be separated from me. What am I going to do when that happens. I'm' scared they might suggest a suicide pact''. At that smart statement even Samui stopped, and turned to stare at Omoi, while Karui's temper rose up and she shook he hands at him.

''Ahhhhh which is it. Do you want to be drowning in girls or not. We havent even reached the hidden village yet. Stop thinking about the pretty girls. It's creepy...'' she continued to rant at him, as Samui managed to mute her teammates out as she took a moment to look around.

* * *

Naruto, opened the entrance to the root underground base, and the moment he stepped out into the light, he was forced to shield his eyes with his right arm which he brough up, as his pupil's took a moment to adjust to the increase in brightness.

Moving to the side to allow the other 3 people behind to exit, he brought his arm down as his eyes adjusted, the pupils shrinking in his eyes. Doing a short 4 hand sequence, he pressed his arm over the doors, sending chakra to the seal arrays, camouflaging the entrance with the enviroment.

Having finished the task, he brough his right hand forwards, and massaged his wrist, the slightest of pains as his tenants chakra slowly fixed his arms. He looked around, seemingly searching for something, before he shook his head and moved behind Danzo, of on his left and two steps behind.

* * *

''Come to think of it Karui, maybe some handsome guy with a super good looking face will hit on you'' Omoi suggested as he got tired of muting out Karui's rant, the though having popped into his mind a few seconds earlier.

Karui, having caught her breath glared at Omoi with annoyance ''Just say handsome guy.'' She chastised him, before adopting a pose, her arms connected, straightened downwards, her head tilted a little as she though about the possibilities of that statement. ''But now that you mention it,'' She drew out ''getting some rich, famesome ninja smitten with me, that wouldn't be farfetched wouldn't it'' She dared Omoi to contradict her in her subconscious, but her line of though was about getting some support from her teammate. obviously, she forgot who was she talking to.

''Nah, you are over-thinking things. There's no way, no way at all'' Omoi negated with a firm resolution, not really believing such a thing was possible. As his eyes were closed, he didn't see his teammate reaching down for a rock, or her aiming the said rock at him, but her shout forced him to ''thats enough, out of you, you idiot'' open his eyes and managed to move his body out of the way. ''**CRACK''**

Karui threw the rock as hard as she could, which is a lot due to her kunoichi conditioning and training. The rock flew and flew until it nearly hit Omoi. ''**Crack**''. Unfortunately, for her, and unfortunately for the other guy, that sounds was not the sound of the rock hitting the Shinobi. The rock continued on, not hitting a tree, into the forest, past a bush. After about 5 seconds, it seemingly stopped, as a bunch of birds flew away, fleeing any possible predator that might be lurking around, having been spooked by the rock's landing.

''What are you doing. What if that stone hits a boulder and smashes it into pieces, and those pieces destroy an even bigger boulder and causes a big rock slide and those rock fall on the hidden leaf and wreck it.'' Omoi said, as he slowly straightened his body, having locked his spine in that narrow dodge., before slumping over in a funny pose, like he was on old man.

''You are the one whose thinking to much you idiot'' She growled at him, as the group continued onwards, shortly reaching the mighty and opposing walls of Konohagure no Sato.

Karui looked to the right, then to the left, noticing how far it stretched and whistled appraisingly. ''Come on, let's go'' She heard Samui say, and walked up to the wall, adding chakra to her feet and climbing upwards, Omoi following after them at a lazy speed, one hand in the pocket, the ither holding another sucker which he placed in his mouth.

Half a minute of climbing, and the Kumo-teen-nin group reached the top, stopped in their tracks, and stared.

From atop of the wall, the Kumo group had a perfect view of Konoha, a rather destroyed Konoha, with a giant hole in the middle of it, deeper that the height of it's mighty walls. Karui stared at it, before tears started to fall down her face, as she shook her head histerically.''No way. I didn't do it on purpose. It was just a little rock'' She emphasized as she made a rough measurement of the rock she launched a few minutes earlier.

Omoi stared at Konoha, a small sweatshop on his head ''Oh Karui, what have you done this time'' He wondered, fearing the repercussions of Karui's action on the hidden Cloud. Surely the Konoha ninja would retaliated and plunge the village into war.

Samui blinked. ''There's no way. Come on, let's find someone'' The blonde woman though rationally, motioning for her subordinates to follow, as she turned to her right, deciding the best was to find someone would be to walk on the wall and search for people, before 2 Konoha chunins jumped onto the wall, hands reaching for Kunai pouches, as they eyed the newcomers warily.

''Hey you, who are you'' A chunin by the name of Gis Tsuru demanded, his nerves running thin. Most of Konoha shinobi were focusing on the rebuilding effort, and the number of border patrol's has lowered severely.

Samui made sure not to make and aggressive actions as she though of an answer that would allow her team to proceed and to make the ninja's relax. ''I am Samui of the Hidden Cloud. I'm a messenger. From our leader the Raikage'' The blonde jonin said, hoping that her words didn't upset the Hyuuga chunin too much. It was obvious that the Konoha forces were jumpy, seeing the large crater where the village should be standing.

''From Lord Raikage'' Kinta Hyuuga drew out. Out of the Hyuuga's he was the most levelled one.

* * *

''Please pardon our welcome earlier, we are all a bit on edge since the attack'' Kinta apologized to the jonin, as he led the Kumo group through a makeshift street amongst the debris, several ninja's looking at them before deciding that the newcomers weren't a threat and continuing with their tasks, moving debris out, carrying the medical supplies, and so on and so fort.

''I was surprised not to run into any Konoha lookouts, then to find the village in such a state. what happend'' Samui asked as she looked at some chunin removing a piece of a wall to get to a corps. Even though Nagato's jutsu brough all of the people he killed back, many still died because of the attacks, crushed under the weight of destruction, having pieces of debris inside their organs and similar cruel fate's.

''It was the Akatsuki'' The man said like the one word perfectly described the fact that there was a hole, a rather deep hole where one of the Kage villages should stand.''Precautions are being taken and the security will be tightened shotly'' He commented on the lack of patrol's allowing a foreign squad to come so close, to actually reach the village.

The woman's face didn't change much, but a little piece of understanding was on it. While Konoha's strength began to fade due to it's demilitirazation, it was still one of the big five, and had powerful shinobi, along with the last tailed beast.

Samui knew how powerful her sensei was. Her pseudo-sister, a woman that didn't share the same blood but cared for her and brother like her own flesh and blood, Yugito Nii was the 3rd most powerful shinobi in the village, right after Kirabi and Ay.

Samui looked at the broken buildings, and felt a little pity for them. While she was expressionless and cold on the outside, that didn't mean she didn't feel anything, she just didn't express these emotions. She could try and imagine how it would fell to have her own home destroyed around her. But she was her on official business, and it took precedence over any of her own thoughts. ''In any case, i need to arrange the audience with the Hokage, I bear a letter from the Raikage addressed to her''

''Well actaully'' Kinta started out a little insecure. It was terrible for the villagers to know that their leader was in a coma. People in their times of need turn to greater powers, to stronger individuals.

''is something wrong'' Samui asked as the guards brough his hand up towards his chin. He turned towards her and extended his hand, palms opened, lower arm at a 90 degree angle, pointing at the ruins, but not singling out anything. He was going to say something, but stopped, and sighed silently, before continuing towards the medical tent containing the Godaime Hokage.

Behind them, Omoi and Karui fell into another scuffle, when Omoi spotted a rock that looked like a carbon copy of the rock threw, and showed it in front of her.

Karui backed away from his hand like it had an explosive note on fuse, shouting how that rock had nothing to do with any of this, before she knuckled his head.

15 minutes of solemn silence later, well silence would be a wrong thing, seeing as the Kumo chunin kept bickering about something. Again bickering might be a strong word. Omoi would say something and shortly Karui would disagree, and she even punched him once, as they passed a kunoichi who was rather well endowed, and Omoi commented on it, comparing Karui to her.

* * *

They reached the outskirts of the village, entering the lush forest of Hi no Kuni once again. In a few minutes, they reached the medical camp, where several of the guards slipped into a more professional routine, now that there were foreign shinobi in the camp.

approaching one of the medium sized tents, Kinta turned around, in the middle of 2 more chunin. ''Well, Samui-san, inside you will be talking to the Hokage's assistant. I will have to request that only you enter. Your two subordinates can wait outside.''

''Understandable'' She waved her arm at Karui and Omoi, who nodded and decided to talk with the 2 Konoha chunin, trying to get some information out of them. The 2 chunin's made sure not to reveal any secrets, but explained about the attack.

''Well, the Akatsuki just dropped in the middle of the day. There were 6 shinobi wrecking havoc in the civilian sectors of the village.'' A chunin by the name of Suzeti Masuhi spoke. He was wearing the traditional Chunin outfit. Blue tracksuit pants, dark blue, nearly black shinobi sandals, the feet and halfway the lower leg encircled in white bandages holding it in place. Blue long sleeved shirt, the ends sewn into themselves. The standard lighter green coloured flak jacket, indicating his status as a chunin to the others, and a forehead protector. His hair reaches his shoulders and was light brown, with a few hairs sticking out of place in front of hs left eye.

''From what we heard, all of them had a Rinnegan in them.'' He explained, but the 2 kumo chunin didn't know what the Rinnegan was. Seeing as Konoha is pretty much a master of Dojutsu knowledge, it was understandable as even they had very little info on it.

''Well it was a dojutsu. It seemed that all 6 of them shared vision, and were some kind of puppet bodies. Some summoned creatures, the one I faced had machines and could launch rockets. (_What the hell are rockets doing in this anime...?)_ from his hands. They wanted information on Naruto Uzumaki, the Toad Sannin'' While only a few saw him, and his attire during the battle, all people by now knew that he was the next Toad Sage, surpassing even his master Jiraya in the skills of the Gama clan.

Suzeti couldn't speak of the fact that Naruto was a Jinchuriki, nor would they want to. Even before the battle, almost all ninja respected him, for his actions during the Oto-Suna invasion. Stopping the Ichibi Jinchuriki. That beast could have wrecked havoc on them, even more so that the Kyuubi, who was inside the walls for only half an hour. Since then, his exploits have been closely monitored by the ninja population. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki was not the hero of their village, but of several countries and villages.

The civilian population lost most of their 'hatred' for him. As a child he was unwanted, and most people only whispered about him. Nobody was brave enough to try and physically harm him. One drunk bastard tried when he was about 3 years old, and the guy was executed on the spot by the ANBU on standing orders.

As he grew older and finally graduated, people just passed him by. It helped as most ninja's who knew of his actions commented them in public, some traders and travelers also spoke about some orange wearing Konoha ninja who 'saved them from the black shadow' or similar tales.

Omoi, sucking on his lollypop, voiced his thoughts. ''So the village has a new Toad Sage, what about Jiraya of the Sannin'' He asked. The Sannin were known thought the world. Orochimaru the White Snake, Tsunade the Slug princess and Jiraya the Gama-sennin.

The other chunin, answered this one. ''Jiraya-sama died fighting Pein in Ame. His apprentice Naruto Uzumaki left to train with the Toad's of Mt Myobokuzan.'' He explained in short.

Karui noticing something missing, looked at the man. ''So why were they after this Naruto Uzumaki and who is this guy'' The chunin's looked at each other, and shrugged their shoulders.

''Well Naruto Uzumaki is the village's most unpredictable ninja, right Koho'' Suzeti joked to his friend, who chuckled.

''Right. We don't know why they went after him. Maybe Pein had a grudge against Jiraya-sama'' He lied. Due to Katsuyu, they knew of Pein being a former student of Jiraya, and why was Pein after Naruto, but it was classified as secret and not to be spoke to foreign ninja.

Karui and Omoi accepted that, seing no reason to lie. The konoha chunin continued. ''Soon Tsunade-sama summoned Katsuyu to heal the villagers, and battled against Pein. The rest of the shinobi fought against his ... what were they called again'' Koho, the spiked haired chunin asked.

''I think he called them Paths of Pein''

''Ah, right, 6 Paths of Pein. Well the shinobi forces tried fighting them, but most were unable to kill them. I hear that it was Sandaime's grandson who killed one, using the Yondaime's own jutsu the Rasengan.'' Koho stated. The Rasengan was one of Konoha's most revered jutsu, created by a Kage himself.

''It seems that Naruto already has an apprentice. Only 2 people knew it up until now.'' Since Kakashi never used it, most people don't know he knew it. Everyone on the other hand knows about the chidori.

Karui took it in stride. She knew not what the Rasengan was, but if one of their kage's creates it, and was known by only the Gama-Sanin's of the village, it must be a powerful jutsu, and difficult to learn.

But she wanted to know more about the attack on the village. She heard the sound of a cane and turned around, spotting a man covered in bandages, accompanied by two ANBU and a another blonde haired Ninja who looked at them. She spotted his arm twitch as he almost went for the sword on his back.

The 2 chunin's near her whispered something, that she managed to overhear by adding chakra to her ear. ''It's the Elder Danzo, Wonder what's he doing here.'' They bowed their heads a little in respect to the man, who didn't even glance at them, but offered deeper bows to Naruto, who looked at them, before slowly, nodding his head and entering the tent behind.

''Who was that mummy'' Karui blurted out, causing the chunin's to muffle their chokes or... laughs. She didn't know.

''That is Elder Danzo Shimura. And the blonde haired guy was Naruto. Most people think he should be the one to become the next Hokage, seeing as he's probably the most powerful ninja in the village. It's strange though to see him without the orange clothes. Maybe they were too damaged '' Koho muttered.

'' People want him to be Hokage, but he's can't be older than us'' She asked, hard to believe a kid no older than her could become a kage. She heard that the Kazekage was the Ichibi Jinchuriki, so that was not hard to believe, seing as the man had control of the sand, and they were surrounded by... well sand.

''Ay. After Pein destroyed the village with one jutsu, he appeared with his summons and fought of all the 6 paths. One of those things could resurrect previously killed. '' Suzeti muttered at Omoi's silent question of fighting the six.

**Inside the tent**

''If it's uncertain when she'll regain conciousness, the acting Hokage will do'' Samui spoke in her usual business tone, 'I'd like to have the letter read and replied to'' She said as she narrowed her eyes slightly.''The Raikage cannot wait''

Shizune sympathized with the woman, seeing as she would be unable to complete such a simple mission. ''Yes, but'' She started to speak, but the words died in her throat, as the flaps were pulled away with a hand, and 4 people walked into the room.

Danzo hit the ground with his cane, speaking in a steel voice. ''That woman there is no longer the Hokage. I was recently appointed the sixth Hokage. Now hand that letter over to me and I'll answer it.''

'_No it can't be, Danzo'_ Shizune thought frantically as the worst possible Hokage came to be. Her eyes took in his 2 anbu guards, wearing their cloaks, she heard the flaps move again, and another person enter the tent, but her eyes were on Danzo the entire Time.

Samui's posture became weary and guarded, not really sure if the man spoke the truth or not. Seeing this, Danzo decided to comment. ''What's wrong. Does Lord Raikage want a reply, or doesn't he''

Samui moved forwards, and handed the envelope to an ANBU, who opened it first to make sure it wasnt an explosive. He, unseen to them channeled chakra to his eye, and activated the Byakugan eye hidden under his mask. Nodding in approval, he then handed the letter to Danzo, who read it over.

''Sasuke, Hmm. Soo It's come to this.'' The man pondered his thoughts as he read the letter over, reading the Raikage's demands and accusations.

''Sir, your response'' Samui pressed, wanting to hear the answer. Danzo's eyes looked upwards from the scroll. He studied the woman for a moment, before he turned his head slightly to the left, to get the view of his subordinate, who stepped up, to read the letter. Shizune's eyes widened seeing Naruto, but the woman composed herself. She could get answers soon.

But Shizune was worried. Nobody saw Naruto in several days, and she knew he would rush to check on Tsunade the first thing he could. She was worried that Danzo tried something, but besides the new look and a more sharp look in his eyes, he looked normal.

Naruto, having read the letter, looked up and at Danzo. ''Hmm. Sasuke was always a flight risk. Should have killed him at the Valley of the End'' He said as he took out a kunai and twirled it around his finger. Shizune blinked. Naruto would never even suggest such an act. She half expected him to yell that such a thing was impossible.

''Sasuke Uchiha. So you joined the Akastuki in place of Itachi'' Danzo said as his gaze returned to Samui. ''Tell your leader that Sasuke Uchiha is a rogue ninja of the leaf. Fugen, go and spread the word that Sasuke Uchiha is to be eliminated on sight. Naruto, go get Sai'' The 2 Root shinobi nodded, before exiting the tent. But before he did exit, Naruto glanced at the bomb-shell of Kumo and spoke. ''If Sasuke is with the Akatsuki, than your master, the Eight-tails is still alive. The Akatsuki always capture the Jinchuriiki alive.''

Naruto stepped out, and looked at the chunin on his left as he massaged his wrist. ''Say, where did those 2 Kumo nin's go'' the blonde haired teen asked, as the chunin snapped at the attention. ''Ah, the moment that ANBU exited the tent and said that there's a Kill on sight order from Sasuke, they shunshined away.'' Suzeti replied, one arm in pocket, the other behind his head. He watched as Naruto nodded, and walked away, quietly.

''Say Naruto'' Koho spoke, speaking to Naruto like an old friend. Naruto acted like that with most nins, so it became a routine for them to speak to him heartedly.''What are you going to do. Everyone knows about you and Sasuke.''

That was true. While the mission to Orochimaru was classified, the grapevine did mention it, and Naruto's promise of bringing back the traitorous Uchiha was known to most ninja.

Naruto stopped playing with the kunai, and put it back into his pouch, not stopping in his tracks. ''Well he's a rouge ninja now. Take a guess''

* * *

''There they are. WAIT'' Kiba shouted on top of his dog partner, Akamaru as he rode towards Sakura and Kakashi, headed to who knows where.

The 2 original team 7 members stopped. Sakura turned around surprised at Kiba's shout, and Kakashi simply looked on with a bored expression, having already heard the Inuzuka approach, he wasn't as startled as Sakura, at who he was a little disappointed for being surprised like that. The Inuzuka dog skipped to a halt a few feet away from the pink haired medic, kicking up grime and dirt.

''Kiba, what 's wrong'' The pink haired medic asked

Kiba gulped silently, now remembering just who is he talking to. A punch from the, once the weakest genin could level a house, He truly didn't know why Naruto let himself get punched by the girl. Maybe he's a masochist.

''Listen up, and just stay calm'' A silent prayer to Kami that she doesnt dislodge his head when her tamper flares, and he continued.''Lady Tsunade's been relieved of her position. The Rokudaime is somebody named Danzo'' Even as a Koho, the power and tittle of the Hokage belonged to Danzo and his orders were absolute.

Seing Sakura stiffen he continued. ''I don't know much, but I think he is some behind the scenes guy.''

''Did you just say Danzo'' Sakura asked, trying to make sure she head wrong. She knew of Danzo from Sai, and even Tsunade, as her apprentice she heard more than her paycheck allowed.

'_This can't be good'_ Kakashi thought as he listened to the young teen.

''And that isn't te only shocker. The Rokudaime Hokage, declared Sasuke a rogue ninja, with a kill on sight order, approving his elimination'' Sakura's eyes widened, while Kakashi looked at the ground. He couldn't save his student any more. He made sure that he trained Sasuke more, as a debt to Obito, already expecting Jiraya to pick up his slack with Naruto.

''Wait, what do you by that'' Sakura demanded, and Kiba barked back . ''I don't know. I'm just a messanger''

Kakashi explained to the medic, guessing she meant that about the hokage. ''It means they can't wait for Lady Tsunade to recover. It's not unreasonable. Sasuke is a rogue shinobi. Standard operating procedure is to either arrest or kill. It's only because of lady Tsuande, and partially Naruto's nagging, that he was allowed to live this long.'' Kakashi explained it to Sakura, who looked at the ground, before straightening her back.

''Well than. I'm going to talk to Danzo'' She started to move.

''Sakura wait. Barging into his office wont solve anything. Do you seriously believe that you can persuade Danzp to lower his punishment. That a simple talk will change his mind.'' Kakashi asked as he grabbed her arm, stopping her

''How dare they do that to Sasuke when lady Tsunade's unconscious. I've got to try. You cant except me to just be quiet.''She wresteld her arm out of hr sensei's grip, and shunshined away, in search of the one person who can get her a better idea of Danzo.

* * *

''Sai'' Sakura shouted as she approached Sai who was walking by a river, having finished making a picture earlier.

Sakura ran closer. ''I was just looking for you. I really have to talk to you''

Sai looked at her as the wind made itself known, floating some leaves in front of his vision, before they landed on the lake, creating ripples on the pristine surface.''What is it''

''Please, tell me what you know of Danzo'' She asked.

Sai's face didn't change as he stared at her.''No, I can't'' He said with a straight face. While Naruto was allowed the most leniency and was trying to make Sai get reacquainted with his emotions, even he had his limits.

''But, why not. Are you back on his side'' Sakura asked, her eyes widening slightly and then narrowing.

Sai didn't mention that i was more of a ruse that he was betraying Danzo. He and Naruto were more...underminding his authority. ''No, what I mean is I possibly can't.'' He went with the answer that was the most sensible and allowed his head to stay on his shoulders where he liked it. He was punched by Sakura once, and it nearly broke his jaw. It was a punch without Chakra. ''To speak about lord Danzo. Is a physical impossibility for me.''

''Becouse of this'' He opened his mouth and showed her his curse seal, a thing ALL ROOT shinobi bore.

Root carries out missions that Danzō believes will benefit Konoha. Because of its core views as "_the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth_", some of these missions may be less than respectable. The organisation's top priority is its secrecy, and most of its missions are carried out in the dark - autonomous of Konoha's authority.

Sakura gasped. ''Is that a curse mark'' Memories of Orochimaru's curse mark entered her mind, and the trouble it caused.

''Yes it is. A jutsu cast by lord Danzo himself. If I try to talk about him, my body becomes completely paralysed, unable to speak or move. In the Foundation, every member bears one'' he stated as his eye lids closed a little

''He's a cautious man.''Sakura 'complimented', stated, as her eyes narrowed further, but not at Sai.

Sai continued to explain the working of Root, seeing as Naruto would be another public member soon. ''Lord Danzo and the Foundation work in espionage. Behind the scenes they have done lots of dirty work to protect the Leaf. Which is why we have to take steps to prevent any intel links. Such as making sure we can't spill a word, even if we are captured.''

Root is an extremely strict, and secretive group and as such each member of the organisation has a cursed seal imprinted on the back of their tongues by Danzō, which when activated, will paralyse their entire body if they try to speak anything about Danzō or the organisation, rendering them unable to speak or move.

''But that's so extreme, I mean putting a curse mark on your own subordinate, that's awful''

Sai spoke back, a little uneasy, but none the less firmly in believing it was for the betterment of Konoha. ''That maybe true, but it has allowed us to keep the leaf safe. His methods maybe heavy-handed, but he cares deeply about the village, like you''

''But if that's true, why does he undermine Lady Tsunade's orders concerning Sasuke. Danzo's planing to dispatch Hunter-nin to go after him.''

Before Sai could reply, the sound of blade being pulled reached their ears, and Sakura turned her head, to come face to face with a tip of a katana leveled at her face. The sword being wielded by Karui of the hidden Cloud.

''Go on, keep talking. Tell us all about this Sasuke. You guys seem to be such good friends with him'' Karui said in an aggressive and accusatory way.

Sai didn't waste any more time as he unsheated his sword, a tip-less tanto, standard for all Root shinobi, and with it pushed the blade away from Sakura, who stepped back due to the sudden movement. Still in motion, he positioned his elbow to stop Omoi's sword draw, the other hand reaching for his Art scroll.

''Don't kill em'' Omoi said to Karui, who flipped over his extended sword.''I know'' She said back, as she rotated her sword so that when she landed, she could make a horizontal swing at Sai, forcing him to dodge.

Sai eyed the sword wielding kunoichi for a moment, before he moved his body back a little, keeping it out of her reach, but using his tanto to block her, so that Sakura could strike the preoccupied shinobi.

Sakura maneuvered to Sai's right, moving outside the range of the slice, but Omoi was already prepared for her, and relaxing the pressure on Sai, jumped upwards, pressed his palms over Karui's shoulder, using her as a make-shift spring board and made a horizontal swing with his legs, kicking Sakura away into the rock wall behind her, and in front of Omoi.

Sakura not expecting this sudden movement t was sent away by the kick, a silent gasp escaping her as her back collided with the rock, her eyes widening. Sai using the opening that Omoi's repositioning gave him, slid around, moving his right hand upwards, making Karui's sword follow. Since she used both her arms in that strike, her body contined on in's own, her momentum following the strike now not impeded, and Sai gave her a kick to her side, sending her away.

He reached for his brush, and with quick and precise strokes, the hand trained to such an extent that only the fastest and sharpest of eyes, or a Sharingan could follow, and painted a tiger, giving the picture life with his chakra as it roared at them.

Karui managed to shift herself, and landed on the side of the tree, jumping into the air, following omoi, who backed away after using a kunai to kill the Ink construct. However, they weren't ready for the sudden slam of wind that sent them flying at much faster speed, nearly not emitting enough chakra to stay above surface level as they collided the the river. ''**Fuuton:Fuujin Seiken**'' A male voice stated, as a shinobi landed by Sai.

XXXXX

Samui walked though the camp, taking mental notes of how well the people seemed to be coping, even without their Hokage.

''How far did Omoi and Karui have to go to get more intel'' She wondered as she though back to her subordinates, and how much trouble they can cause. '_We are in foreign territory, I hope they are not causing trouble_'

Not stopping her gait, she gave an equivalent of a mental groan at that thought.

She looked at a puddle where an old lady was resting, and 2 dogs were drinking out of. She then looked at the line for the food, where the civilians seemed to have seen better days. Overall, some people coped with it, some didn't.

'_All this damage to the hidden leaf village, who could have stopped a foe powerful enough to do this'_ Like an answer from Kami itself, her question was answered as she reached a group of civilians. ''sometimes, i still can't believe that he took on the Akatsuki all by himself'' The man was dressed in a blue hoodie and beige pants.

Another man, holding groceries spoke up next. ''I confess, i never though Naruto could get so far'' The man had a light grey/dark grey mixed sweeter.

''Yeah, he's a true hero all right. They should make him the Hokage'' The man stated, as he brough his fist up, a pumping motion, before he brough the hand down yet again.

* * *

''**Fuuton:Fuujin Seiken**'' A male voice drew out, a voice that Sakura was well acquainted with, as Naruto landed by Sai's side, arm's already back from the position to launch the futon jutsu.

Omoi and Karui rolled over the surface of the water and as they nearly hit the shore, they regained their senses and steadied themselves, on top of the river, Karui in a crouch and Omoi standing.

Naruto glanced back at Sai, who stood right next to him. Sakura stared at Naruto for a moment, taking in the change of attire, before her attention was turned towards the Kumo nins, who sheathed their swords. While Karui was ready for a fight, Omoi wasn't too thrilled fighting a guy that could best an opponent that the entire Hidden village couldn't. So he made sure that Karui followed his movement.

Naruto now wore a complete contrast to his previous outfit. On his feet were black Shinobi sandals. The blonde wore ANBU regulations black pants, with a small vertical scroll attached to them like a kunai holster, or like Sai has his brush. Tied around his waist was a dark blue belt, on which a pouch was attached behind Naruto's back, on the left side. On his torso, he had a non-see-through, dense mesh muscle shirt, over which he wore an unzipped black jacket with red straps, as customary of all Root members. The jacket was like sais only longer, like a normal jacket. His jacket, also like sais, has a long right sleeve and short left sleeve. On his back, tilted more to the right for easier draw, is a standard issue Root tip-less Tanto. To top it all, his right shoulder had a crest, it's design the blue Uzumaki spiral.

Though the members wear the standard cloak and mask of the Konohagakure ANBU, they don't have an actual standardised uniform like the others. Underneath the cloak each Root member wears a personal attire. The only single distinguishing garment they all wear is a short, black, midriff jacket, with red straps over the shoulders along with the tip-less tantō.

Before any more words could be said, Sakura SHRIEKED. ''What the hell do you guys want'' She winced as she used a minor medical ninjutsu to fix her displaced rib, before standing up. Naruto, after using hes left pinky to clear out the ringing in his ears, decided to stay silent. While he knew what they were here in the Leaf, attacking a Konoha ninja wasn't the best of ways to go about gathering info.

''We just heard the 2 pf you talking about Sasuke Uchiha'' Omoi stated as he saw the look Naruto sent him. The ROOT operative was silent, letting himself explain their actions.

''We want to know about him, and you are going to tell us.'' He pressed on, trying to gauge how much he could demand before the Sennin acted.

''Why, what do you want to know about Sasuke. What does all of this have to do with you Kumo nin anyway'' Sakura demanded, her free hand reaching for some shuriken in her pocket. Omoi narrowed his eyes at her. ''A whole lot, because Sasuke Uchiha of the Leaf, assaulted the hidden cloud village.'' He pointed an accusatory finger at her, rage, controled rage visible across his face.

That proclamation shocked Sakura, who was about to deny it, before Naruto's voice snapped her out if it. ''Sasuke Uchiha joined the Akatsuki and captured the Eight Tailed Jinchuriki'' He stated as he crossed his arms in front of him.

''You heard.'' Karui said, her eyes focussing on the pink haired 'medic?', who had the loudest of voices she ever heard. ''**Your** rogue shinobi kidnaped our bellowed master. We don't even know if he's dead or alive''

The kumo nins didn't question why Naruto knew it already, and didn't take a guess about the 8 tailed jinchuriki. The guy was famous, the Kumo's protector.

Naruto continued to look at them with an impassive look. While Jiraya wasn't much of a teacher, and he didn't share his views, the guy did put in most attention to him and to his training out of his sensei's during his act.

Sakura's eyes landed on him. ''That's a lie, Sasuke would never, why would he ever do something like that''

''How the hell should we know the akatsuki's motives'' Omoi replied back, adding more tention itno the air.

Naruto stopped this little 'farce' from ensuing. He looked at Sakura, and whatever retort she had was cut in her throat as soon as he looked at her.''Sasuke Uchiha is a rouge ninja with a kill on sight order from Lord Hokage. Whatever reasons he had for joining Akatsuki don't matter. He joined up with the world's most notorious organization.'' She eyed him like he drew a second head, but Naruto ignored it, expecting such looks already.

So pressing on, he made sure to emphasize on just what Sasuke joined ''An organization that attacked Gaara, the Sand Kazekage and killed him, an organization, whose leader leveled The Hidden Leaf village. Our orders are to eliminate him, not question why he did it. Sakura, if you can't kill him, you are off the roster'' His eyes snapped back at the kumo nins, as he only turned his neck to stare at Sakura

He glared at them for a moment. ''And you idiots shouldnt go around attacking leaf personal. Due that again, and diplomatic mission or not, i will kill you without hesitation. Now follow me, we are going to find you superior, and then she will decide how to handle you guys. Sai, you are with me. Lord Danzo wanted to speak with us.'' The Kumo nin's jumped over the river and landed behind Naruto, in front of Sai, as the 2 leaf nin's walked out on a slightly hysterical Sakura. Sai turned his neck to look at her, before closing his eyes and focusing his gaze forwards. That was a reminder of what emotions could make out of a shinobi, if they allow themselves to be ruled by them.

They walked for a few minutes, before Omoi decided to throw the last word in

''It's because you let your rogue ninja run lose that lord Raikage dispatched us here. We already have Hokage's permission to get rid of him'' Naruto rolled his eyes, biting back a retort in his throat.

* * *

somewhere in the middle of nowhere...

A void with another dimension rippled, as the space slowly stretched in a swirling motion, contorting at the same time, pulling a person from another place, into the current, desired one. The swirl abruptly closed as Madara Uchiha materialised.

Seing the Taka approaching, he stated in his adult voice.''Hey Sasuke'' Cauising the young avenger to snap his eyes at the direction of the voice. Seeing his ancestor in front of him, he looked at the group's sensor with a questioning gaze.

Karin, seeing her crushes gaze stated simply.''His charka came out of nowhere. I don't know how''

Suigetsu sighed as he slapped his face, groaning at the prospect of having to due 'business' with the man again.''Talk about bad timing'' he trailed off, seeing as nobody was listening to him.

''How the hell did you know where i was'' Sasuke asked, trying to figure the man and his motives out, while also trying to coax info out of him, a thing many shinobi wilingly parted with during battle.

''Do not take me lightly.'' Madara said as he flared his chakra at them ''I have powers beyond your comprehension.'' He silenced himself, awaiting for the next move.

Sasuke stood up as he fingered his sword hidden under the robes.''So what do you want from me, Taka left the Akatsuki, we have no further business with you''

Madara decided to play some of his games, taunting and warning the upstart Uchiha ''I warned you that you would die if you betrayed the Akatsuki'' As he said that, the other three members stood up, their stances defensive

''What are you talking about ''Sasuke muttered as his eyes narrowed at the man. He couldn't kill the man with the Amaterasu, the holy black flames of the Sharingan.

''The hunt for the tailed beasts'' Madara said as if the sentence explained everything. When he didn't receive the expected response, he observed them.

Karin spoke back this time ''But we already captured the Eight-tails for you and handed him over like you asked''

Madara looked at them, end even though his body didn't move, and his head was hidden by the mask, you could tell he was looking at them like they were idiots. ''That was a substitution. In short you blundered'' There was a small gasp from team Taka at that tabdit of info.

''It seems the 8 tails pulled a fast one one you'' he said in a sarcastic tone, causing the young Uchiha's mind to mull it over.

'_I was watching him with the Sharingan the entire time, he had no opportunity to make a clone. I must have been when I sliced of that tentacle.'_ Karin could literally imagine the gears turning in her crushes head.

''Honestly all of you have disappointed me'' Madara commented about them.

''So what do you want us do to about it'' Suigetsu asked as he placed one arm on the handle of the Kukuribicho ''I mean it's not our business any more''

Madara decided to push his plans ahead, stating the problem ''Wrong, you complete the job you were assigned by the Akatsuki. Having said that you can forget about the Eight tails, I have decided to have you carry out a different mission''

''And what if we decline'' Sasuke asked as he got ready to jump at him with a chidori.

''Then we will fight it out right here, and you wont be able to go to the Hidden Leaf village'' Having said that, he followed Sasuke as the avanger brought his hand out of his cloak, a chidori blazing in it ''We will push through'' He jumped and ran his raiton coated hand through the man's stomach, only too pass through him. Nondesturbed by the body that was halfway though him, Madara continued .''it's a little late to go to the Hidden Leaf anyway''

'_I passed right though him just like before, is this one of his powers' Sasuke _analyzed the situation, thrown of guard by the fact that he couldn't touch the man, and if he couldn't touch him, he couldn't kill him.

Madara, his back turned continued on''Your objective seems so futile now, it's sad really''

''and what does that mean'' Sasuke galred, as his eyes narrowed, brows furrowed in contemplation of the man's words, still crouched, the chidori died out.

''The village Hidden in The Leaves is no more'' Madara stated like it was a casual, everyday occurance that a big five village was eliminated.

''What are you talking about'' Karin asked as she tried to sense the man's chakra better with her sensing technique, a Kekkai Genkai jutsu.

Madara didn't answer, as a venus fly trap rose out from the ground in a sickening squelch. ''**i can explain everything that happened in Konoha''**

Karin stumbled back as yet another chakra signature seemingly appeared out of nowhere. ''what is that'' she asked as she pointed at the creature.

''Relax'' Madara started ''He's an associate of mine'' The aged Uchiha than looked at the Zetsu, before asking. ''So who's the new Hokage''

''It's that fellow Danzo'' the white half answered, throwing the Taka in a lop at having two voice paterns.

Madara shook his head. ''just as anticipated''

''Danzo, he's Hokage now'' Sasuke asked as his eyes narrowed, silent fires of furry swimming in them, his chakra becoming a tad bit colder.

''Yes one of the high ranking members of the Leaf village that backed your brother into a corner. That's the man who's become the new Hokage''

''Just what the hell happened in the hidden leaf village'' Sasuke decided that he couldn't fly blind on that, seing the change of leadership from the Senju.

''My subordinate, Pein destroyed it, and thanks to you and Pein showing of, it seems the five kage are going to take action'' Madara stated with a chuckle

''The five kage'' Sasuke muttered, his head flooded with new ideas for testing his strength.

''They are conveying a summit conference'' Madara once again interjected himself during the Avenger's musing

''allow me'' white Zetsu voice drew out ''I'l explain it all''

* * *

''Tell us everything you know about sasuke'' Karui demanded as they neared the camp, from where she could see Samui ''And I don't mean just his nin-jutsu style and his abilities, but also any data you've collected about his companions and the Akatsuki, and info about their past activities too.'' Naruto looked at her.

''Damn, you sure are demanding. You want it with, take it with lord Danzo. I don't care. My job is to kill the guy, not tell you his life story.'' He stated bluntly, but decided to throw in the final jab at the Kumo nins. ''So now that your last Jinchuriki has been taken, your Raikage finally seems to recognize the treat. The man's skill of deduction are astaunding''

XX—XX—XX—XX Kenchi618's jutsu

Fuuton: Fuujin Seiken, formerly Fuuton: Kazenokami-ken no Kami (Wind Release: Divine Fist of the Wind God): B-Rank Ninjutsu. Mid-to-close range. Forces the user to direct wind chakra around their hands in the blunt shape of their fist and thrust it out at their target. The impact is equal to the amount of chakra pumped into the attack, however the control must be adequate in order to use the jutsu at such a high level, violent backlash can occur if the control over the amount of chakra is not satisfactory. Theoretically the attack can be used to crush an opponent into paste against a solid surface, or can throw an enemy an unmeasurable distance with blunt force trauma.

**AN: some have noticed but i mix english words like Lord, hidden village, with japanese words -chan-san,-sama, ..hagakure no Sato and so on. Depending on my mod it will shift. Jutsu's will have japanese names if they are famous or well known, ex: Katon:Karyu Endan, or if the jutsu is rather specific, it will have both. **


	5. Onwards to the Land of Iron

"Life is like a sandwich!

Birth as one slice,  
and death as the other.  
What you put in-between  
the slices is up to you.

Is your sandwich tasty or sour?"  
― Allan Rufus

* * *

Passing by a tent that housed an elderly couple back from the First Shinobi war, Samui spotted the shinobi from the tent earlier, one Naruto Uzumaki, 'escorting her subordinates'. She just knew that letting those 2 wander around would bring trouble where it wasn't wanted or needed.

So, with grace that only a kunoichi can have, she walked towards them, already forming reprimands in her mind. And so she appeared in front to of the her subordinates, Cloud shinobi Omoi and Karui, escorted by the Gama-sennin and another shinobi in similar clothing, reminiscing a kind of uniform, the most eye catching parts the red straps.

''Captain Samui'' Omoi waved at her, while Karui seemed slightly nervous. Ah so they did get into trouble.

She approached them with a neutral face, getting some small pleasure from watching Karui sweat.''Omoi, Karui, how goes the intel gathering'' She asked with a straight face, taking a moment to study the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks.

So, while observing Naruto's whiskers, discretely of course, she decided to speak, and ask the obvious. ''The two of you havent been causing any trouble now, have you'' Karui quickly shook her head, not wanting to hear her reprimands, but Samui spotted a slight twitch at Naruto's mouth before it disappeared as he he looked at Sai

''Look never mind that, Lord Killer Bee may still be alive, we have to save him'' Omoi said and she nodded, guessing that it was Naruto who told them that piece if very important info.

''Listen to me, we are going to have to track down all the Akatsuki hide outs.'' Naruto snorted at that foolish plan but refrained from commenting it out loud, but Samui had no problems pointing out the flaw in that 'plan'.

''And then what. We can't go in there alone. These people captured Lord Killer bee, and were strong enough to do this to Konoha'' She added that small part, to emphasize the extremity of the situation. Konoha, while the least militarised out of all the Big 5, was still a powerful village, with plenty of strong shinobi which could be listed as high A borderline S

''You are suggesting we check out the who knows how many Akatsuki hideouts one by one.'' She shook her head as she placed a hand on her hips, providing a nice figure to look at.

''We need intel. We need analysis first'' She explained. She also would like nothing more than to run out there and go find more her sensei. This time when she spoke, the tone was a solemn one. ''We need not make the mistakes we did that time with Yugito'' and like that, the mood was killed.

''We'll just take the Konoha data directly to Lord Raikage, especially since there's so much of it'' Samui said as she greeted Naruto and Sai, and left towards the Konoha library built into the monument shelter system.

Konoha had the largest amount of info about the Akatsuki, having killed Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu in previous engagements,and having had run-ins with Deidara, Tobi, Itachi and Kisame.

Naruto and Sai watched them leave, having lost their momentary aberration, before disappearing out of the view with an ink and wind spiral shunshin.

* * *

''Naruto'' Suigetsu tested the name, doubt and disbelief mixed in the word. ''This Naruto guy really defeated Pein all by himself'' The shark-teetheed teen asked as Zetsu described the Battle against the 6 paths of pain.

''That's right. He's become extremely strong.'' The venus fly trap said in it's smoother voice, indicating White Zetsu was the speaker. ''In fact, i believe he's stronger than Sasuke right now'' He absent-mindedly noted, seeing if he will get rise out of the Uchiha youth.

Sasuke however smirked at that ''I don't care about that, what is a problem is this Five Kage Summit'' Inside he felt a little giddy, the possibility of facing more than one Kage more than welcome. He was a true Uchiha, and only another Uchiha can defeat him. He seemed to have selective memory in that concern.

Suigetsu spoke, scratching the back of his head ''So what do we do, the leaf village is gone now, and if our target, this guy Danzo goes to this meeting of the 5 Kage then shouldn't we head over there to''

Karin's head whipped back at him as she bit her lip. Suigetsu looked at her ''whaat? You think i'm wrong about that'' Karin didn't say anything. She knew Sasuke was strong, but the Kage's were some of the most powerful shinobi on the planet, she was a little hesitant at facing them

Sasuke took the reigns as he looked at Madara straight into his eyehole, where the lone Sharingan watched them with ..amusement. ''We the Taka, will take the Hokage's head right at the summit. New destination''

Madara looked them over ''sounds like a plan''

Karin stated the obvious lack of information concerning this summit ''So how to we find out where this 5 Kage Summint is taking place'' '_Ahgr. Situation's becoming annoying'_

''Zetsu'' Madara said as he turned to look at the White-Black plant

''My clone will guide you there' 'white said and spread it's venus trap open. The Taka got a front row seat to watch how the White Zetsu split itself after unfurling the venus trap head ''okay, follow me'' the white clone said cheerfully as he jumped away.

The Taka jumped after him, leaving Madara and black Zetsu behind, as Madara watched the Uchiha move away.

Jugo came up closer to Sasuke as he jumped from a tree using chakra ''Do you think we can really trust these guys.''

''We will keep an eye on them. But if anything seems suspicion then i'll get rid of them with my Amaterasu, there's something i've been meaning to test out anyway'' Sasuke said as his eyes narrowed at the back of White Zetsu, just waiting for it to try something that would give him an excuse to burn the creature.

Back with Madara ''**Things aren't going well''**

''Well i would never guess that Nagato would use The Gedo path Rinne-Rebirth on Konoha, and for such a thing as that. I can't believe he betrayed me'' the man spoke bitterly, knowing that the only reason that happened was a certain orange clad idiot jinchuriki

He turned and looked at Zetsu ''Even if Sasuke surpasses nagato, it's meaningless if we can't control him, I have no intention of linking him to the Gedo statue any time soon, it's wiser to just keep an eye on him'' Unfurling the part of their plan to the general audience; squirrels, trees and leafs

''**I can't belive you foresaw the possibility that Nagato would die''** Black Zetsu complemented

''As a precaution, but we have definitely fallen of the ideal path, thanks to Naruto Uzumaki, he's caused all our well laid plans to shift'' Madara said as his fist curled.

''W**hat next then do we do'**' black Zetsu asked the leader of Akatsuki

''We are done with moving ahead cautiously, put a rush on project Tsuki Nome'' Madara said ominously, fingers curled up a he stared at the sky, seeing the moon in the day sky.

* * *

**Danzo's Kage tent**

''I've sent 2 of my best, Dajimu and Tera, after Anko, should we move to eliminate her'' A Root operative, codename Terai asked, kneeling in front of the Rokudaime Koho, a man that had the powers of the Hokage, but was still not entirely sure wherever or not will remain as one.

''We are at a crucial juncture, i want to avoid any mishaps that could worsen our circumstances, increase the number of troops. Make capturing Kabuto, a higher priority than Anko'' Danzo gave the man his instructions, knowing that he had to tie up any loose ends, lest they enter the light of day in the worst of time, courtesy of that oh so despicable saying '_anything that can go wrong, will go wrong'_.

Danzo, and by extension Root, has been trained to always expect the worst of the possibilities to come true, least you would never be surprised in any situation.

'that one he may know about my relationship with Orochimaru' Danzo had Orochimaru help him with the Mokuton cells and his transplanted Sharingan eyes. He could not afford that to tidbit of info to reach the light of day, ever, if he could help it

''kabut poses all of Orochimaru's human experimentation data'' the man thought out loud, the cloaked shinobi kneeling in front of him not interrupting his line of thought, waiting for his words.

''we must obtain it'' he scratched the bandages on his head ''i am certain it would be most useful in regards to my right eye and right arm'' He muttered to himself

''Fu, Torune, Naruto, Sai, you stay here. Terai go, I leave Kabuto's capture to you'' Danzo commanded after several seconds of silence.

''Yes sir'' The ROOT operative said back, and was gone in a plum of smoke.

''And now, I must prepare to depart for the Gokage summit meeting in Tetsu no Kuni'' The man said and Naruto raised an eyebrow. A summit of the 5 Kage's was practically unheard of. It happened with the Shodaime's of the each great hidden village in the beginning, but since than the lands have been in a state of uneasy ceasefires, interrupted only by the 3 shinobi wars.

''You can only bring 2 retainers to the summit, except in special cases. I have decided that it would be you, Naruto and Sai. Naruto, you are the strongest ninja within the organization, and I've read in my reports that the two of you are becoming quite a team'' The man gave a small praise to them, fully aware just how good the two of them had become during some of their hidden training.

The 2 shinobi didn't move a muscle, but Naruto's mouth gave a s light twitch, at that, before he schooled his expression. The other's didn't catch it as his head was bowed.

''At first, i thought of taking you Torune and Fu, but i will have you stay behind and take command of the forces'' Danzo explained, for ..some reason. The Root shinobi wouldn't interrupt or contradict him, unless given a chance of free speech.

''Sir, what shall we bring in terms of armament'' Naruto asked as he looked up.

''Don't concern yourselves with limitations, I trust your judhment'' Danzo waved the concern of, not bothering with such trivial maters. The shinobi's whole body, and his enviroment are weapons, and there were no special stipulations, but Naruto asked out of the fact that it was held in Tetsu no Kuni, a land neutral to external policies, safe from Shinobi attack, could have special rules.

''Sir'' the Root Shinobi acknowledged

''Torune, have your subordinates keep an eye on Tsunade, and Sakura Haruno as well. Naruto has brough up concern that her infatuation with the Uchiha...may prove difficult in the future'' the bandaged man exclaimed, and his Aburame operative could make sure they are kept track of

''We leave tomorrow, at dawn, dismissed'' Danzo said and closed his eyes, sensing 3 out of the 4 presence's vanish. He opened his one seen eye and looked at the mop of blonde hair that indicated Naruto still bowed in front of him.

Taking it as a que that Naruto wanted to say something more, he gave the opening ''yes''

Naruto's head turned upwards, as he looked at Yami no Shinobi in the eyes ''i have a request, Lord Danzo'' He asked, and waited for the reaction. As a Root Shinobi, even as a Jinchuriki who's emotions must'n be removed totally or risk subcoming to the beast within himself, he was still trained to lose him emotions, and to have total control of them. The idiotic cover up mission however required him to show way too much emotion, to act as an ignorant child, and that couldn't be anymore.

Danzo looked at him straight in the eye. He allowed what happened in the medical wing, as he was probably under sedatives, but he still though of emotions as an obstacle. Unfortunately, Naruto, no mater how good his control was, was still a Jinchuriki, and an Uzumaki. He still remembered some of their clansmen and their eccentric behaviour.

''You may proceed. I wish to hear this request out''

* * *

''Kankuro, you are late'' Temari said as she complained to her brother who just jumped in front of her, having took his preparation too long.

''Assembling my puppets took longer than i thought'' The kimono clad shinobi stated, as his sister proceeded to annoy him for his puppets. The art of puppetry was delicate and some things couldn't be rushed.

''Goodby lord Kaekage, please take care'' Matsuri shouted from the crowd, stopping any further comments from the siblings.

''Lord Kankuro, Lady Temari, we are counting on you to keep Kazekage-sama safe'' a council member cautioned them, all of them concerned about their Kage's life

''Yeah we know'' said as she answered back, waving a fan at herself, cooling of the desert air, striking a pose.

''But Gaara doesn't really need body guards where we are going'' Kankuro grumbled as he crossed his arm's in front of his chest, not too thriled about going to the freezing forest of the far north. He looked at his brother, a small amount of sarcasm mixed into the sentence.

''come on, time to go'' Gaara, as always, spoke in short, to the point sentences, now again wearing a he wore full-length dark trousers, with a pair of laces on each leg, respectively a few inches below the waist and the knees, a long-sleeved crimson coat with flaring hemlines and slits down on the lower half of the front and the back, a grey holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which he uses to carry his gourd

The three siblings bid everyone a goodbye, as they moved towards the village entrance. After a short while, Temari spoke up ''Among the 5 Kage, Gaara is going to be the youngest one, it's our duty to make sure the other Kage don't take him lightly'' she warned, expecting some of them to try and abase Gaara for his age

''A 5 Kage summit, you know I cant help but wonder what all the other Kage are like'' Kankuro wondered out loud as his sister looked at the sky, a single cloud flying over the village, reminding her of Shikamaru's laziness with it's slow speed.

* * *

''Hey, did you hear'' Ino asked as she appeared in front of Shikamaru and Choji. The Akimichi, thanks due to their physical strength, have been assigned to help the contruction teams. Choji was carrying a stack of planks on his shoulder using his Partial expansion.

Shikamaru was carrying a catalog portraying the plans for reconstruction towards the Kage's tent for approval.

After lots of planning, brainstorming and arguing, a basic plan for construction has been draws. However like most of things during Martial Law, it needed the Kage's approval. Word has gotten around that the Rokudaime Hokage has been chosen, so that finds the position Shimakaru is in.

''Hear what Ino, you are going to have to be a little more specific'' Shikamaru yawned as the 2 males of team 10 didn't stop moving, passing by their blonde team-mate

''Naruto's been spotted in the company of the new Kage'' She exclaimed like it was the greatest news in the world

''Okay, so what'' Shikamaru asked lazily

''What do you mean what, nobody has seen him for days, and you just say 'so what' ''Ino gasped, disbelief that her team-mnate could act in such a way even with all of the things happening around them.

''Eh, I knew that knucklehead would pop out somehwere'' Shikamara stated a he kept gazing at a pillow shaped cloud. Hearing no retort from Ino, which is a miracle on his own causes him to glance back at her.

Seeing her staring at something, he, reluctantly, as his troublesome senses were tinkling, follow the gaze.

He looked up to see the whiskered blonde walking in their direction, staring at a picture in his hands with a blank face, not noticing the world arround himself. That the first thing he noticed was odd about Naruto.

Naruto was more than mostly always aware of his surroundings like, of the more veteran shinobi. It was one of the reason why he saw it was weird for him to act in such a way. Not much surprised him, but he did overreact a lot.

The second was his uniform, his eyes focused on the red straps in his jacket and his eyes furrowed. His father warmed him to be weary of people wearing those straps, a reason why he was always guarded around Sai.

Then he took in the rest. Black, black, black, some grey, deep blue, azure blue spiral on his shoulder that looked similar to the Hidden Leaf Spiral. Not a speck of Orange. Strange, ridiculous, propostruios. He stopped his muscles from moving his arms into the position to dispel the Genjutsu he was subjugated too.

''Hey Naruto, over here'' It would be Choji that would break out the 2 boys out of their worlds and Shikamaru turned to his lazy face once more.

Naruto looked up and gave the Leaf Shinobi a small smile. ''Hi Choji, Shikamaru, Ino'' Gently folding the picture, he placed it back into his pouch, before tucking his left arm into his pocket and placing the right hand behind his head, and walking over to them.

Choji placed the material down on his left, and gave Naruto a pat on his shoulders. ''Where have you been Naruto, everyone's been worried about you'' the big-boned teen asked and Naruto grinned. He always did like Choji, the kid had a lot of potential, just needed more confidence and belief in himself.

''Yeah, like what happened, and what's with the get up. It looks like Sai's'' Ino asked, fishing for any info she might get and spread through her Konoha Gossip intelligence network for kunoichi and housewives, taking a note that he looked much better, an eye-candy without that horrible suit.

''I was a little worn out, and needed to be healed'' Naruto explained, not giving the girl any more info that needed. The girl's face scrunched up, not happy that she didn't find any more than that. Not even a location.

''Okay, where have you been. You weren't with any medical team'' She pressed on, not backing down from a challenge. Naruto gave her a grin, and tapped her nose, causing her to blush lightly, before waving his finger in front of her nose. ''ah ah ah. Ino. No information for you about that''

The girl recovered quickly, sending him a light glare for embarrassing her in such a way, especially with Choji snickering at her getting played like that. She crossed her arms in front of her bosom and pouted. ''Fine, be like that. I'll find out eventually. What's with the clothes then''

Naruto looked at his clothes, realizing that most expected him to be in something covered in orange. Yeah like that's going to happen again.

''It's my uniform. Figured no use wearing those clothes now that im a Jonin'' Naruto calmly stated, diverting her focus from his uniform and onto his new rank.

The girl blinked. ''Huh, but you have to pass the chunin exams first'' she pointed at and Shikamaru answered that without missing a beat.

''The chunin exams are more of an advertisement for the village and a formality. The Hokage can give a field promotion, but you Naruto aren't Jonin material'' Shikamaru pointed out, correcting her statement

Naruto raised an eyebrow and decided to play a short mind-game with the Nara 'genius'. ''Oh really. You know this through skilled observations of my personality traits right. Though watching and recording my emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns, huh?'' Naruto asked with a straight face, taking in the blinking faces of team 10. Choji and Ino were staring at him like he not only gre a second, but a third and fourth head.

Shikamaru just muttered troublesome. He waved a hand in front of Ino, her face frozen. Naruto continued to walk, hands behind his head, clasped together as he looked on ahead.

It took several seconds for the rest of team 10 to reboot. ''Huh?'' In perfect synchronicity came from the Akimichi and Yamanaka vocal cords.

Ino looked at Shikamaru. ''What just happened'' She asked.

''Did Naruto just say such a complex sentence'' Choji wondered out loud, and Shikamaru took a piece of his cigarette and light it up with his lighter. ''Torublesome blonds''

* * *

Iwagakure, the Hidden Stone Village , literally meaning Village Hidden by Rocks, is the hidden village of the Tsuchi no Kuni. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Iwagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Tsuchikage, current being Ōnoki. Iwagakure is well-known for the rock-hard attitude of its shinobi; as soon as the Tsuchikage gives an order, the Iwa-nin do so without hesitation, even if it means death.

The standard attire for shinobi from this village consists of red outfit — which can either have one, or both sleeves — a lapel which is usually found on the side without a sleeve and a brown flak jacket — which also may, or may not have a pouch attached to it. They also tend to wear mesh armour around their ankles. Iwagakure ninja seem to specialise in Earth Release techniques.

The rocky mountain ranges that surround the village and country provide a natural stronghold. The village profits from this advantageous position and is proud of its strong defences. The village sits among a mountain range consisting of small narrow waterfalls, with the buildings being composed of rock and stone; shaped from large, elevated formations of rock into tower-like structures. Many of its buildings sit on cliffs connected by a network of bridges. The Tsuchikage's residence seems to be the tallest structure with a cone-shaped roof and bears the kanji for "Earth".

Iwagakure was founded by the First Tsuchikage. At some point, the First Hokage distributed the tailed beasts to the Five Great Shinobi Countries as peace offerings to ensure balance amongst the nations.

During the time when Madara Uchiha was a shinobi of Konohagakure, he approached Mū and Ōnoki where he informed them that despite the alliance that Iwagakure had made with Konoha, his village was to remain the dominant power and that from that point on, they would obey Konoha. Afterwards, Madara fought and defeated them when they engaged him in battle. Sometime in the past, due to great enmity between the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage, the two men eventually killed each other in a final confrontation. Although it is unknown which, or how many tailed beasts were given, the Four-Tails and Five-Tails were in Iwagakure's possession before their capture by Akatsuki. The Five-Tails, sealed within Han, was captured by Akatsuki under unknown circumstances. The Four-Tails, sealed within Rōshi, was captured by Kisame Hoshigaki while the jinchūriki was exploring the world.

''Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, good luck'' Waved a woman from the village walls, her and several other jonin seeing their aged-leader off.

''Lord Tsuchikage, go teach all those other Kages a thing or 2'' another Shinobi proclaimed, earning cheers from the other ninja there.

''Ahh, going to summits at my age is such a chore, all those younglings running around with no regard for my discomfort, they forget about my bad back'' an old man complained as he massaged his aching hips, watching the land in front of him.

When he was an adolescent, Ōnoki was tasked with cleaning his village's Stone Monument. As he did so, the First Tsuchikage came and spoke with him. Ōnoki, who believed that the First was just a cheap old man to have such a simple thing as the symbol of the village, was then told that the stone represented the unmovable will of the shinobi of the village. The First then told Ōnoki that he too possessed that strong will, but would lose it if he didn't face adversities with determination.

As a young man, Ōnoki was a student to the Second Tsuchikage, Mū who passed down to him the secrets of Dust Release techniques, and eventually, the title of Tsuchikage. At some time in the past, Ōnoki fought with Madara Uchiha, and is the only living Kage to do so. On one occasion, Madara approached them and declared that despite the alliance between their villages Konoha was to remain the dominant one and anything that Konoha requested, Iwagakure was to obey.

Later in life, he himself would become a teacher to Deidara, though he often implied that Deidara's ideologies and fighting style annoyed him, he was still proud of him. He hired Akatsuki many times for their services in the past, which he rationalised by his concern over Kumogakure's unwavering militarisation.

Ōnoki is a very proud, headstrong, and boastful individual. Because of his age, he is also somewhat frail, with constant complaints about hip and back pains. He refuses to retire and choose a successor as Tsuchikage despite being up in age, insisting that he is still strong enough to continue to rule the village.

Ōnoki is a very short, old man with a triangular beard and a moustache that has angular corners, a big red nose and thick eyebrows. The top of his head is completely bald, although, he has long white hair on the lower-half of his head which is styled in a traditional chonmage hair cut, the back of which is tied with a yellow ribbon into a topknot. Ōnoki wears a green and yellow coat with a red collar. Underneath he wears the traditional Iwagakure outfit consistent of a light green version of Iwagakure's flak jacket and mesh armour. He however has both his sleeves of his shirt, but kept the single lapel on his right side. Along with this he wears sandals.

During the tenure of the First Tsuchikage, as an adolescent, Ōnoki had brown hair along with dark brown and thick eyebrows. He also wore a T-shirt. When he was a young adult, Ōnoki wore an outfit with armour plating on it and his forehead protector on his head like a bandanna.

Kurotsuchi, his granddaughter grinned at him, amused by his choice in words and decided to tease him into retiring with words ''Well gramps, why don't you just retire than, I mean why bother trying to drag out the glory''

Kurotsuchi is generally calm and easy-going. Like her grandfather, Ōnoki, she is very audacious. She often sarcastically implies that because the Tsuchikage suffers from back pain he should be replaced by someone younger. She also has an immature side to her, which she hides.

Kurotsuchi has short, black hair and pupil-less, black eyes, that are accentuated by her eyelashes running upwards at the corners. She wears the standard attire of the Iwa-nin consisting of a red uniform with her right sleeve missing and a lapel over her right leg, the brown Iwagakure flak jacket, fish net tights and a skirt over them. She also wears regular shinobi sandals and a pair of gloves.

Kurotsuchi is a highly capable kunoichi, having been chosen to guard the Third Tsuchikage during the Kage Summit. Kurotsuchi is capable of using three basic nature transformations. One is Earth Release which enables her to erect a protective rock dome that was sturdy enough to endure several tons of rock falling on it. She can also use Earth Release to unearth things underground. Kurotsuchi can combine the basic natures she can manipulate to create an advanced one. Combining Fire Release and Earth Release to create Lava Release, which in her case, creates quicklime. She can use Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique to cause corrosive damage, and combine it with Water Release: Water Trumpet to increase its range and cause it to harden and trap the opponent.

Akatsuchi gave a good belough laugh at her words as he spoke to the Tsuchikage ''Here let me carry that for ya'' The big man reached down and picked up the crate-bag-luggage.

Akatsuchi is a very jovial individual who always seems to have a cheerful disposition. He is also somewhat childish. During battles, he tends to act very level-headed and efficient as the Tsuchikage's bodyguard.

Akatsuchi is a large and somewhat imposing man with dark eyes and black hair that spikes out at the back from underneath his forehead protector which he wears like a bandanna. He also has large cheeks, and a plump nose which give him an overall look of constant joviality. He wears the red Iwagakure uniform which has both its sleeves, underneath his flak jacket in addition to a yellow scarf around his neck.

Onoki, the aged man, growled at him from his throat, as he raised his arm into tha air and waved his fist in front of the man's face ''Hands of Akatsuchi, I can get this''

So, the stubborn old man picked up his own luggage and placed it on his back, strapped in tightly. ''See, it's nothing'' He leaned forwards, and just then his hips gave out, the back giving him problems as he lurched forwards, mouth frozen in a cubical 'O' of pain, before falling on his ass and cursing rather loudly ''AHHHH, my back %&%/% ''

Kurotsuchi's smile widened as she grinned at the man. ''Ah, listen gramps, you wanna send some one else instead'' The woman teased

''Why you little impudent fool, just who do you think I am. I am Tsuchikage Onoki, the great fence sitter of Iwa'' He grumbled something about killing and back, before trying once again to stand up fully with the weight on his back. naturally it didn't work

The woman sighed, dropping the smile at the old man's stubornes, pressing a finger at her temple. ''Ahhhh what did you expect'' she commented, referring to his back, before adding ''You stubborn geezer''

Akatsuchi reached down, and took a firm hold on the pack. He then started lifting it up, along with the Tsuchikage. Kurotsuchi observed with a smile, placing her gloved hand on her chin. The smirk that threaten to spill was well hidden, allowing only a thin smile, that only looked like a smirk in the smallest of capacities to show.

Her black obsidian eyes however... sparked with mischief.

''Very well, you may carry your own pack if you really want to'' The large man he told the aged Kage as he placed him on his own luggage, the cubical design giving Onoki a flat board to sit upon, Onoki, who, was glaring at the back of his head. The man reached down and took the Tsuchikage's brown coloured hat

''Allright, let's be off'' the jovial man declared happily as he started to move forward, Kurotchusi in town and Onoki caried by him.

''What insolence. Fine I don't care'' the Tsuchikage crossed his arms and pouted like a child of his height.

''There gramps that's better isn't it'' Kurotsuchi offered as they increased the distance between their village and themselves

* * *

The flaps fluttered, and Shizune turned from watching Tsunade, and looked back to see the person the whole village was praising enter the tent with a blank look on his face. ''Naruto'' the woman voiced and he looked at her. Naruto stared at her for a ew moments, before walking up to her and sitting in a seiza position by her side, before looking at Tsunade.

Naruto was wondering why he came here in the first place. While Shizune and him were associates, he didn't know much about her. Hell he maybe spent a total of 10 hours in the same room as her in the last 3 years.

His line of though turned towards Tsunade. Why was he here. The woman over there didn't mean much to him. While acting as an idiot he called her Baa-chan, and, she was, a cousin of some sorts, she didn't mean much to him.

Was it because he received his first real gift from that woman. Actually, when he though about it, it wasn't a gift. The woman gambled it off on him learning the Rasengan. The Shodaime necklace he used to wear was a powerful tool, used to subdue the Kyuubi, but in his fight he had to get rid of it.

His instincts screamed at him during that fight as he lost control adn entered the 5 tailed Version 2 state, and he crushed it into many pieces, but the effect was powerful enough to return him back to his 3 tailed version one cloak. It was a tough gamble activating version 2, as the chakra output increased exponentially. (_In case you didn't figure it out, he didn't go 8 tails, didn't meet Minato and Hinata didn't jump in)_

''Where have you been Naruto. We were all worried about you, Sakura has been a wreck'' Shizune asked. The boy was unnaturally quite, and kept looking at her Master. The sentence seemed to wake him up, as he turned his head slightly, to get a look at her, before looking back at Tsunade.

''I was healing. The battle with Nagato caused some muscle damage, as well as overstrain in my chakra coils'' Naruto listed off, and a moment latter felt Shizune touch him with the diagnostic Jutsu.

Shizune sensed the damage, and the slow, but nonetheless there, healing of it.

She was brough out her thoughts by his musings. ''How long untill Lady Tsunade wakes up''

Shizune looked up at him. Naruto just gave her another glance, as she straightened up, sensing that there was nothing she could do that hasn't already been done. Again, it didn't feel right to hear the words 'Lady Tsunade' come out of his mouth, in stead of 'Baa-chan' that he seemed to be persistent at using.

''I don't know, Sakura and I have been doing anything we can. Whatever is happening, her body will decide when she wakes up''

As Naruto prepared to get up, Shizune asked what was bothering her. ''Those red straps, why do you wear them. Only ROOT Shinobi wear them to show their allegiance with Danzo. And why aren't you calling her Baa-chan'' The woman asked, weary of this new personality, now believing Danzo did something to the usual ball of energy that managed to lighten up her days.

''I have no friendly feelings for the woman Shizune. She, Jiraya and Saruobit continuously lied to me about something. I don't see her as an adequate leader. Her skills lie in the field of medicine, which she has used to save the village, and for that she has my respect. But i still see an old drunk who can't face reality'' Naruto said coolly, not bothering in masking his tone, with a blank face as he got up and moved towards the exit to the tent.

* * *

Kirigakure, the Village Hidden by the Mist, infamously known as the "Village of the Bloody Mist", is the shinobi village located in the Land of Water. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Kirigakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Mizukage. There have been five Mizukage, the current one being Mei Terumī. An unusually high number of missing-nin seem to originate from this village and as such a unique classification of ANBU known as hunter-nin are specifically tasked with eliminating these defectors.

The standard attire in this village revolves mainly around a pinstriped material which the shinobi wear as bracers and greaves which merge into their sandals. Underneath this, they wear a full-black shirt and pants over which they wear the villages' standard grey flak jacket. Some also wear waist-guards. A majority of the shinobi from this village are very proficient with Water Release techniques. Kirigakure's architecture is composed of several cylindrical buildings, with the Mizukage's office being the widest and largest. Most of the taller buildings have trees on them. Befitting its name, the village is surrounded by a thick mist, with several mountains in the background, making it difficult to find by foreigners.

Kirigakure was founded by the First Mizukage. At some point, following a meeting between the five founding Kage, the First Hokage distributed the tailed beasts to the Five Great Shinobi Countries as peace offerings to ensure balance amongst the nations. At a latter point in the past due to great enmity between the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage, the two men eventually killed each other in a final confrontation.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Kirigakure captured Rin Nohara and made her the jinchūriki of Isobu, hoping to use her to destroy Konohagakure. They allowed Kakashi Hatake to retrieve Rin and sent jōnin and ANBU pursuing them, so they would get to Konoha as fast as possible, where the beast would be released on the village. This however failed as Rin willingly let herself be killed by Kakashi in order to protect Konohagakure.

Kirigakure does seem to have experienced a number of internal conflicts. The Kaguya clan once waged war against Kirigakure to quench their lust for battle and were slaughtered by the village's superior forces. Because of their efficiency on the battlefield, those with kekkei genkai are fielded in times of war, but Kirigakure ninja and most other citizens of the Land of Water are suspicious of those with genetic abilities and have persecuted them in the past.

This persecution is known to have reached the point where parents imprisoned children or attempted to kill their children and entire clans were wiped out.

During the reign of the Fourth Mizukage, Kirigakure began using a new graduation ritual for their academy: death matches for students who wish to move on into the ranks of ninja. This act reinforced the infamous nickname Village of the Bloody Mist. Students who did exceptionally well during the graduation became prime candidates for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of ninja skilled with bladed weapons. Though this practice was eventually discontinued after Zabuza Momochi slaughtered an entire graduating class, not yet being a student himself.

Yagura's term as Mizukage caused great turmoil for the village: ninja began craving power and taking part in questionable activities such as in Zabuza's case when he attempted to assassinate the Mizukage.

Since Mei has taken office, the village has taken a new stance and has begin working on their diplomatic relations and internal policies as well as their overall image while aiming to be recognised as a more open-minded nation.

Ten years earlier, it was revealed that Kirigakure bore a grudge against Iwagakure for the event known as the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass where Iwa ninja caused the deaths of Junsai and Suiren to take an important scroll that Iwa ninja helped a Kiri team including Ganryū steal from Kumogakure.

Kirigakure had two tailed beasts in its possession: the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails. The Three-Tails was sealed within Yagura, though by the time Akatsuki went after it, it was roaming free. The Six-Tails' host, Utakata, was captured and had his tailed beast extracted by Akatsuki.

''We intrust the honorable Mizukage to your care, make sure she doesn't over do it'' a man command, wearing the civilian attire of most Kiri wear, a green and blue patterned kimono, and a headband.

''I know, i will'' Ao replied back. Ao was an experienced veteran, having been raised under the feared regime of the _Bloody Mist_ and having fought in war. He has clashed several times with Konoha shinobi. At one point he defeated an unknown Hyūga, taking one of the Hyūga's Byakugan and implanting it into his own right eye socket. Later, he had a confrontation with Shisui Uchiha, which left enough of an impact on Ao for him to clearly remember Shisui's abilities and his chakra colour long after the event.[2]

He is a middle aged man with blue hair which is styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye is blue and his right eye is covered by an eye-patch, under which he concealed the Byakugan that he obtained from a Hyūga clan member he defeated. He wore a talisman in each ear with the kanji for a humble form of "to hear" written on them twice on each side.

These talismans reacted when his Byakugan is under threat and will protect it from anyone, even himself. He also wore the standard striped, grey suit, with a green haori that had white trimmings that stop halfway down, over them.

The village elder, a man that had some good 30 years on Danzo, slowly approached his body shaking like a leaf. It took him more than 10 seconds to cross the 2 foot distance in order to and over the Mizukage hat to the auburn haired beauty

''Thank you very much Lord great elder, by my title of Mizukage i'l fulfill my duty with briliance'' Stated Mei Terumi, the Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure. She became Mizukage in recent years, after the dreadful reign of Yagura ended, and has worked tirelessly to recreate diplomatic relations with other villages, as well as reform internal policies.

Mei is a cheerful person, and will smile even when swearing to kill Ao after she mishears him. She is usually kind and peaceful, speaking well of others and attempting to avoid conflict.

Befitting her role as the village's leader, Mei cares about the welfare and history of Kirigakure. Though Mei is courageous and calm in battle, she is not above realising her or any one else's limitations. She is also usually quite fearless and determined.

Mei is a slender woman in her thirties. She has green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin.

She wears a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that falls just below the knees. It seems to be closed at the front with a zip, and is kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covers up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wears a mesh armour that covers slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wears shorts in the same colour as her dress, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wears a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left along with high-heeled sandals and shin-guards reaching up over her knees, dark blue polish on her fingers and toes, and is usually shown with dark blue lipstick.

is a very powerful kunoichi from Kirigakure, her abilities and leadership earned her the title of Mizukage. She is very calm, observant and perceptive in battle and can pick up on slight discrepancies in another person's personality and behaviour.

The old man gave her a good natured laugh.

Another jonin then looked at the last member of the party ''as the member of the 7 swordsman of the mist, protect lady Mizukage well, Chojuro'' He waned the kid, not really happy with handing the safety of the Mizukage to such a doubtful kid.

''Ah yes sir, all three of us should be just fine, I hope'' Chojiro said as he looked downward, nervously. Despite his membership in the elite Seven Swordsmen group, he is a shy individual and seems to lack confidence in his abilities.

Chōjūrō has short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. He also has pointed, shark-like teeth; a common trait of the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist as well as apprentices share. He wears square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt and camouflage pattern pants. Also, he wears his forehead protector on the front of his holster which he uses to carry Hiramekarei. The sword itself is wrapped in bandages leaving only the double hilt visible. He also has shuriken holsters strapped onto each of his legs.

''You should have more confidence in yourself'' Mei told him in her kind voice as she turned towards him, the smile still present on her face ''You are very strong, after all that's why I chose you to accompany me to the summit. Okay Chojuro?''

''aA yes mam, i'l do my absolute best, well I hope'' he relied back thinking how kind the woman is and how beautiful her smile is, as a mild blush formed on his face, the woman not noticing it due to her eyes being closed

''YES MAM is all you should say. That spineless attitude is useless.'' Ao admonished ''the youth these days are all made with weakness'' Ao is a calm, prideful, stern and masculine individual as he believed that men should be tough and decisive, scolding ōbringing during the times when Kirigakure was known as the Village of the Bloody Mist into the sentences when talking about children these days.

The Mizukage however, heard diferently, a very strange syndrome ''Old me'' She chose to interpret those words the worst way a woman could, as her hair covered her face, obscuring it behind the shadows, her eyes holding a dangerous glint in them.

''enough with the lecturing now get moving or you are going to be late''

'It's too late, for marriage' Were the words the auburn haired beauty heard

''my lecture is good advice ''He said as he trailed on ''my, back in my day'' he began but was stopped when Mei, the Godaime Mizukage stepped closer, putting her mouth near his ear, and mouthed in a leveled tone, a smile on her face.''Shut up or die''

The man got paler than Orochimaru in record time

* * *

Naruto stood in front of one person that saw his mask as a big brother and a rival, and if Naruto had to honestly say, he viewed him somewhat like a little brother. Naruto never had any siblings, his training in Root was always with blank face mask or older instructors. When he looked at him, he saw what he could have been if he didn't join ROOT, a young shinobi, eager to see the world, not realizing the harsh and bitter truth of it, not knowing the horrors one could do in servitude for his village.

''Hey Konohamaru'' Naruto said to the genin who was strangely silent, taking in his appearance. The kid was startled for a moment, before he looked up to see Naruto's smiling face. ''Ive heard. Someone told me that you killed one of the pains with the Rasengan'' Naruto stated with a hint of pride in his voice. To use such a technique, even with a clone, is a big thing.

Konohamaru got a mild blush on his face. ''I only pulled it off because I was desperate'' he looked down as Naruto ruffled his hair. The kid was harsh on himself, not realizing how much of a feat pulling of such a technique is.

''You did a good job Konohamaru. You are a hero of Konoha too'' Naruto complimented to the youth, before looking at him intently. The young Root operative liked the kid, he had a lot of potential, that nobody saw. Somehow, he got attached to him, trained him in ninjutsu, even dropping his mask around him a little.

''Konohamaru'' He said, gaining the youth's attention. ''I had a talk with the Hokage'' He watched and waited for his reaction, pleased that he didn't seem suprised by the news of a new Hokage. It would be ...troublesome if he acted similarly like he did 3 years prior.

''As I am staying with the regular Konoha forces'' He ignored the questioning look from the child.

''And as I have the rank of Jonin, i can take on an apprentice officially'' He waited for the stunned expression on Konohamaru's face.

For Konohamaru, time stopped for a moment there. He took in the news that his rival was a jonin at the age of 16. And then he heard the last part. So he replied intelligently and expertly . ''Huh''

Naruto smiled. He might not be the same Naruto as the one he acted for so long, but one can't act like that for so long without some parts of yourself. Quickly going through one of 2 jutsus taught to him by Jiraya, he bit his lip and flew through the handseals he memorized 3 years ago. Pressing his palm downwards, seals flew out of the point of impact, chakra surging, pulling in another creature through the Time-space bending tehnique. Kuchiyose no jutsu, something most people took for granted, not eve realizing the complexity of it.

While people knew that any ind of summoning is powerful the simplest fact that such a technique existed didn't bring any to look at it. It was an elaborate jutsu, whose workings even seal masters of Jira'ya caliber couldnt fully understand. Of course, seeing that the village whose's starters in fuin jutsu arts could make Jiraya look like a rookie has been obliterated from the face of the earth, it was hard to get any good sealer.

With a puff of smoke, an orange toad with purple markings around his eyes, mouth and stomach appeared. The toad wore a blue jacket and had a tanto straped to his waist. When the smoke cleared, Konohamaru saw Naruto siting on top of his familiar Gamakichi looking down at Konohamaru's awed face.

''Konohamaru, meet Gamakichi, my familiar. Gamakichi meet Konohamaru Sarutobi, my student'' Naruto introduce them, hopping of the toads head down to the earth in front of his student.

''Yo'' Kichi greeted, waving his webbed hand in the air. Konohamaru recovered and pointed at the toad, not being able to form coherent words. The little kid adored Naruto and to be in the presence of his personal summon would be quite a big deal. Naruto smirked at the awed genin.

''Cool, this i one of your toads, Naruto-nii'' Konohamru asked finally and Naruto chuckled. Gamakichi looked at the kid, happy that he didn't mistake him for frogs like so many people do, before looking back at Naruto. ''So he's the next one Naruto. You sure start out early huh Naruto''

Another small puff of smoke, and a scroll laid in front of him, showing several names.

''So how about it Konohamaru. Do you want to become my apprentice'' Naruto delivered the question

* * *

In the village of Kumo, one Raikage waited anxiously for news about Sasuke Uchiha ''Still no word from team Samui'' The kage asked his secretary, a woman named Mabui.

''No sir, all communication has been silent, but I do expect to hear something soon, Samui has already been informed of the route you will be taking to the summit lord raikage'' The woman said as she held in on hand some files.

''the plan is for her to rendezvous directly, or send a messenger bird'' The silver haired woman explained to the Raikage who nodded, before standing up from his chair

''Good, all right then, i'l be heading out too'' The muscled man said as he placed a fist at the table, a table reinforced with fuinjutsu and made of the strongest wood in the world, besides Hashirama's and did a flip. ''Let's go Cee, Darui''

''SIR'' Cee said back, full of energy and snapping to attention

''Suure'' Darui spoke with the enthusiasm of a Nara

''Come along'' Ay barked as he, using pure physical ability, jumped over the table, over 3 meters separating the table with the closed window, and through the still closed window, crashing through it straight down the mountain

Cee and Darui approached the new air recycling port, and searched where did their leader land.

Mabui shook her head in exasperation ''ahh, not again'' The poor woman shook her head at the antics of her boss already preparing to go downstairs where the crew of engineers that fixed the tower were stationed for their weekly work.

''Let's go Darui'' Cee said energetically as he prepared himself to jump through the hole, but was stopped by his partner's voice.

''No thanks, il's just take the stairs like normal people'' Darui said in his disinterested tone, as he brought his left hand up and placed it behind his head. Closing his eyes, the dark skinned man spoke after he opened them, looking at Cee with disinterest. ''You go on ahead, I'll catch up''


End file.
